GIFT  OF 
Professor  Daggett 


A   DEFENCE 


AMERICAN  POLICY, 


A   DEFENCE 


AMERICAS  POLICY, 


AS  OPPOSED  TO  THE  ENCROACHMENTS  OP 


FOREIGN    INFXUENCE, 


AND  ESPECIALLY  TO  THE 


INTERFERENCE     OF    THE    PAPACY 


POLITICAL   INTERESTS   AND   AFFAIRS  OF  THE 
UNITED    STATES. 


BY    THOMAS    K.    WHITNEY. 

•    it 


NEW    YOKE: 
DE  WITT    &   DAVENPORT,  PUBLISHERS, 

160   AND  162    NASSAU   STREET, 


ENTERED  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  by 

DE    WITT    &    DAVENPORT, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  U.  S.  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


CIFTOF 


Vv  oV^c.s.ov 


W.  H.  TINSON,  Stcreotyper. 


R.  CRAIGHBAD,  Printer. 


('.  W.  AI.EXAXDER,  Binder. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  volume  is  written  for  the  People  in  the  United  States,  whether 
Native  or  Foreign,  Protestant  or  Catholic.  It  affords  a  review  of  the 
five  prominent  elements  in  the  political  atmosphere  of  the  present 
day  viz.,  AMERICANISM,  FOREIGN  INFLUENCE,  PROTESTANTISM,  ROMAN 
ISM,  and  STATE  SOVEREIGNTY. 

The  discussion  of  these  subjects  necessarily  involves  an  analysis  of 
the  several  phases  of  Republicanism,  and  especially  of  American 
Republicanism;  as,  Human  Equality,  and  the  innate  right  to  Life, 
Liberty,  and  the  Pursuit  of  Happiness.  Also,  the  qualification  of 
citizenship;  the  philosophy,  effects,  and  abuses  of  Naturalization ;  the 
character  and  results  of  immigration  under  our  system ;  the  nature, 
uses,  and  abuses  of  the  Right  of  Suffrage ;  the  influence  of  Religion 
on  the  affairs  of  State,  or  Politico-religious  Government ;  the  Right 
and  Sovereignty  of  individual  States,  including  the  social,  legal,  and 
political  aspects  of  Slavery,  etc.  etc. 

As  cognate  subjects  of  interest,  the  volume  will  present  a  view  of 
the  efforts  from  time  to  time  made  in  resisting  the  encroachments  of 
foreign  and  papal  influences  in  our  national  policy,  embracing  a 
history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  great  "  American  Party,"  and 
the  secret  societies  from  which  it  sprung  into  existence. 

The  policy,  purpose,  and  character  of  the  American  Party  have 
been  so  constantly  assailed,  and  so  generally  misrepresented  by  men 
whose  political  aspirations  were  liable  to  suffer  in  its  success,  as  to 


906521 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


demand  a  clear  and  impartial  exposition  of  the  whole  subject,  which 
should  serve  as  an  antidote  to  the  errors  of  opinion  set  on  foot  by  its 

enemies. 

The  object  of  this  volume  is  to  present  such  exposition,  cud  afford 
a  candid  view  of  the  dangers  to  which  our  free  institutions  are 
exposed  through  the  deleterious  innovations  of  foreign  influences,  the 
encroachments  of  the  Papacy,  and  the  recklessness  of  demagogues. 

In  this  effort  to  forward  the  great  ONE  IDEA  which  constitutes  the 
basis  of  the  American  policy,  I  have  endeavored,  by  comprehensive 
ness  and  interest,  to  adapt  the  volume  to  the  tastes,  circumstances,  and 
wants  of  the  great  mass  of  the  American  public— to  encourage  and 
fortify  the  friends  of  that  policy— to  convert  its  enemies,  and  to  con 
vince  the  doubting. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    L 

PASS 

POPULAR  GOVERNMENT — EDUCATION  IN  THE  SCHOOL  OF  SELF- 
RELIANCE — FRENCH  NOTIONS  OF  LIBERTY — CHARLES  X.,  LAFAY 
ETTE  AND  LOUIS  PHILIPPE 13 

CHAPTER    IL 

NATIONAL    BEVERAGES — THE    FRENCH    REPUBLIC — LOUIS  NAPOLEON 

BONAPARTE 23 

CHAPTER    HI. 

HUMAN   EQUALITY — TAXATION  AND  REPRESENTATION 33 

CHAPTER    IV. 

LIFE,   LIBERTY,  AND  THE  PURSUIT  OF  HAPPINESS 42 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  STATE — THE  SCIENCE  OF  RELIGION  AND 
THE  SCIENCE  OF  GOVERNMENT 52 

CHAPTER   VL 

ROMISH  PRIESTS  AND  AMERICAN  POLITICIANS — THE  CHURCH  POLI 
TICAL ,  64 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    Vn. 

PAPAL  ASPIRATIONS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES *  .  .   78 

CHAPTER    VIH. 

AMERICAN  REPUBLICANISM  AND   ROMANISM — THE   CONTRAST 94 

CHAPTER    IX. 

CAN  A   PAPIST  BE   A  CITIZEN   OP  THE   AMERICAN   REPUBLIC  ? 104 

CHAPTER    X. 

THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT  CONDITION  OP  THE  PAPAL  CHURCH  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES— THE  SEVEN  PROVINCES — THE  HIERARCHY — 
COMPARATIVE  VIEW  OF  IRELAND,  ENGLAND,  SCOTLAND  AND  THE 
UNITED  STATES I15 

CHAPTER    XL 

THE  RIGHT  OF   SUFFRAGE •  •  •    124 

CHAPTER   XH. 

NATURALIZATION — ITS  NATURE,  EFFECTS,  AND  ABUSES 135 

CHAPTER    XHI. 

ALIEN  SUFFRAGES — VATTEL  ON   THE  RIGHTS  AND   DUTIES  OF  ALIENS 

— RESERVED  POWERS   OF  THE   STATES 151 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

IMMIGRATION — ITS  CHARACTER,   EXTENT,  AND  RESULTS 164 

CHAPTER    XV. 

INTERVENTION — THE  PLANS  OF  LOUIS  KOSSUTH— HENRY  CLAY....    188 

CHAPTER   XVL 

STATE    RIGHTS — SLAVERY 198 


CONTENTS.  11 

FAOB 

CHAPTER   XVH. 


POLITICAL    PARTIES. 


222 


CHAPTER    XVIH. 

THE  "  NATIVE  AMERICANS  " — THE  PARTY  IN  1834 230 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE     AMERICAN      REPUBLICAN     PARTY     OF     1844 — ITS      RISE     AND 


FALL, 


243 


CHAPTER    XX. 

THE   ORDER    OP   UNITED    AMERICANS — ITS    ORIGIN — ITS    PRINCIPLES 

AND   OBJECTS — ITS   FORM   OF   GOVERNMENT 257 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE  ORDER  OF  UNITED  AMERICANS — ITS  PROGRESS  J  INFLUENCE 
AND  CONDITION « 2G8 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE    "  KNOW  NOTHINGS  " — ORIGIN   AND  RISE    OF    THE    ORDER — ITS 

MISSION" '....: 280 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE  "KNOW  NOTHINGS  " — PROGRESS  OF  THE  ORDER — ITS  INFLUENCE 
— THE  FREE  SOIL  INOCULATION  AND  EXPULSION — MASSACHU 
SETTS  —  THE  PHILADELPHIA  CONVENTION  —  PARASITES  —  THE 
MISSION  FULFILLED 288 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

"THE  UNITED  AMERICAN  MECHANICS'-' — EFFECTS  OF  THE  COMPETI 
TION  OF  IMMIGRANT  LABOR  ON  THE  INDUSTRIAL  LXTERESTS  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES — THE  REMEDY — "  THE  UNITED  SONS  OF  AMERICA  "  306 


12  CONTENTS. 

PA9» 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

317 
THE   "  ONE   IDEA.  " 


CONCLUSION 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

.  324 


APPENDIX. 

SPEECH  OP  HENRY  CLAY  IN  REPLY  TO   GOVERNOR  LOUIS  KOSSUTH, 
ON   THE   SUBJECT    OP  AMERICAN  INTERVENTION    IN    THE   AFPAIRS 

333 

OF  EUROPE 

OPINION  OF  THOS.  H.  BENTON  ON  THE  SUBJECT  OP  INTERVENTION  337 

KOSSUTH'S  APPEAL  TO  THE  GERMANS  IN  AMERICA 338 

KOSSUTH'S  SECRET  CIRCULAR  TO  THE  GERMANS 340 

THE  REVOLUTIONARY  "  LEAGUE  " 343 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTIONARY  LEAGUE  OF 

EUROPE 347 

GOVERNOR  RAYMOND  AND  THE  IRISH  LEAGUE 349 

FOREIGN  PAUPERS  AND  CRIMINALS  SENT  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES 

BY  THEIR  GOVERNMENTS 354 

DESECRATION  OF  THE  SABBATH 358 

THE  KENSINGTON  MASSACRE,  PHILADELPHIA 362 

STATISTICS  OF  PAUPERISM  AND  CRIME 365 


DEFENCE   OF   THE  AMERICAN   POLICY. 


CHAPTER     I  . 

POPULAR    GOVERNMENT— EDUCATION    IN    THE    SCHOOL    OP    SELF-RELIANCE— FRENCH 
NOTIONS  OF  LIBERTY — CHARLES  X. — Louis  PHILIPPE  AND  LAFAYETTE. 

"  If  humanity  shows  to  the  God  of  this  world 

A  sight  for  his  fatherly  eye  ; 
'Tis  that  of  a  people  with  banner  unfurled, 

Resolved  for  their  freedom  to  die. 
'Tis  a  spark  of  the  Deity  bursting  to  light, 

Through  the  darkness  of  human  control, 
That  fires  the  bold  war-arm  in  liberty's  fight, 
And  flames  from  the  patriot,  burning  and  bright, 
Through  the  eye  of  an  heavenly  soul." 

PHILLIPS. 

MANKIND  are  entitled  to  just  such  privileges,  social  and 
political,  as  they  are  capable  of  employing  and  enjoying 
rationally.  American  Republicanism  comprises  this  theory, 
no  more. 

By  American  Republicanism,  I  mean  the  system  of  gov 
ernment  an  use  in  the  United  States  of  North  America,  as 
distinguished  from  all  other  systems,  forms  and  theories  of 
Republicanism  heretofore,  or  now  in  use  elsewhere.  A 
republic  may  be  an  oligarchy,  like  that  of  Venice ;  or, 


14         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

it  may  be  a  democracy,  like  that  of  Athens.  American 
•^e^nblicdm'OTi  Sa  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  The  Vene 
tian  and  the  Athenian  exhibit  the  extremes  of  what  is  termed 
popular  government;  the  American  presents  the  just  and 
rational  medium.  Republicanism  in  the  form  of  an  oligar 
chy,  imparts  to  the  people  little  more  of  political  or  social 
freedom  than  an  absolute  monarchy.  It  is,  in  fact,  but  one 
step  removed  from  that  form  of  government.  In  a  mo 
narchy,  the  prerogative  of  government  is  monopolized  by  a 
class,  whose  only  claim  is  that  of  birth.  An  aristocratic 
republic  presents  a  similar  phase,  and  the  greatest  liberty 
enjoyed  by  the  people  is  the  privilege  of  choosing  their  rulers 
from  that  monopolizing  class.  And  even  this  degree  of 
liberty,  when  granted,  is  confined  to  a  limited  portion  of  the 
whole  people,  because  the  right  of  suffrage  is  so  hedged  in 
and  restrained  under  "  property  qualifications "  and  other 
hindrances,  that,  comparatively  speaking,  but  few  of  the  peo 
ple  ever  reach  the  standard  of  eligibility.  It  is  apparent,  that 
under  such  a  system,  a  majority  of  the  people  might  as  well 
live  under  monarchical  restraint — for  in  an  aristocratic  republic 
the  poorer  classes  are  regarded  with  no  more  favor  or  consi 
deration  than  they  are  under  a  liberal  monarchy ;  possibly 
they  are  regarded  with  even  less  consideration. 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  from  this  fact,  that  the  people 
of  the  Venetian  Republic  were  entitled  to  a  greater  degree 
of  liberty  than  they  possessed.  We  must  not  lose  sight  of 
the  maxim  that  "mankind  are  entitled  to  just  such  privileges, 
political  and  social,  as  they  are  capable  of  employing  and 
enjoying  rationally,"  and  we  have  no  evidence  that  the  Vene- 


EEPUBLICS.  15 

tian  republicans  had  attained  to  the  intellectual  qualifications 
necessary  to  fit  them  for  the  rational  enjoyment  of  a  larger 
liberty  than  they  possessed.  Communities  and  nations  far 
more  enlightened  than  were  the  republicans  of  Venice,  have 
tried  the  system  of  popular  liberty,  and  failed.  They  have 
overturned  thrones,  beheaded  kings,  and  exiled  or  executed 
whole  aristocracies,  without  avail.  Rational  liberty  has,  in 
every  instance,  fled  like  a  phantom,  or  an  ignis  fatuus  before 
them,  constantly  eluding  their  grasp,  and  eventually  leading 
them  with  headlong  and  fanatic  speed,  through  avenues  of 
horror  and  torrents  of  human  blood,  to  disappointment,  ruin, 
and  disgrace.  The  Robespierrian  republic,  and  the  Crom- 
wellian  commonwealth,  are  terrible  proofs  in  support  of  our 
theory. 

But  we  have  a  later  and  fortunately  a  less  fanatical,  and 
less  bloody  witness,  in  the  efforts  of  the  French  people  to 
throw  off  the  monarchical  shackle.  The  first  fruit  of  this 
popular  revulsion  was  the  overthrow  of  the  Bourbon  dynasty, 
and  the  expulsion  of  Charles  X.,  and  the  entire  royal  family. 
The  headstrong  leaders  of  that  revolution  were  eager  to 
declare  a  republican  form  of  government,  but  they  were  con 
fronted  by  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  who  silenced  their 
clamors  with  the  bold  declaration  that  the  people  of  France 
were  not  in  a  condition  to  enjoy  and  employ  in  a  rational 
manner  the  delicate  responsibility  of  self-government.  Lafay 
ette  had  been  a  pupil  of  George  Washington,  the  Father  and 
founder  of  the  American  Republic.  He  had  devoted  the 
energies  of  his  youth  and  •  the  fortune  of  his  inheritance 
to  the  completion  of  American  independence,  during  its 


IQ          A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

struggle  against  the  oppressive  exactions  of  the  British  crown. 
He  had  shared  the  inmost  confidence  of  the  great  champion 
of  liberty ;  he  had  listened  to  his  counsels,  and  imbibed  his 
spirit.  He  had  studied  the  history  of  the  colonists,  he  had 
analyzed  their  spirit,  and  he  had  witnessed  the  establishment 
of  their  republic.  He  had  seen  Washington  in  the  presi 
dential  chair,  directing  the  tottering  steps  of  the  new-born 
nation,  and  his  comprehensive  intellect  realized  the  great 
secret  of  its  success. 

Lafayette  saw  and  realized  the  fact  that  the  American 
republicans,  so  far  from  emerging  by  a  sudden  and  violent 
step  from  the  serf-like  condition  of  monarchical  subjects,  had 
been  prepared  for  the  transition  by  the  training  of  a  century 
and  a  half  in  the  school  of  self-reliance,  and  that,  although 
nominally  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  they  were,  in  the 
principal  essentials  of  their  character,  free  men,  long  before 
the  blow  was  struck  for  national  independence. 

Their  sovereigns  rather  encouraged  than  restrained  the 
spirit  of  self-reliance,  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  colonies, 
with  the  view  to  encourage  emigration,  and  thus  people  the 
new  territories.  Even  the  first  successful  colony  of  Europeans, 
which,  in  the  year  1607,  settled  in  Virginia,  under  a  grant 
from  James  I.,  of  England,  was  vested  with  a  local  legisla 
ture,  chosen  by  the  people,  and  it  also  enjoyed  the  right  of 
trial  by  jury.  I  say  the  first  successful  colony,  because  the 
colony  established  by  French  Huguenots  at  St.  Augustine, 
Florida,  in  1562,  was  broken  up,  and  the  colonists— nine 
hundred  in  number,  murdered  in  cold  blood  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  expedition  under  the  monster  Melendez. 


THE    SCHOOL    OF    SELF-RELIANCE.  17 

For  generations  the  whole  lives  of  our  ancestors  had  been 
the  initiative  of  republicanism.     Their  remoteness  from  the 
parent;  government,  whose  authority  was  exercised  more  by 
tacit  consent  than  by  absolute  dictation,  so  far  at  least  as  its 
effects  were  felt  by  the  hardy  populace ;  their  exemption  from 
the  constraint  of  aristocratic  intercourse ;  the  local  dangers 
by  which  they  were  surrounded  and  exposed,  forcing  upon 
them  a  community  and  equality  of  interest  for  mutual  pro 
tection  ;  their  wild  and  romantic  habits  of  life,  tempered  with 
an  uniform   reliance  on   Divine   Providence;    together  with 
an  innate  spirit  of  resistance  to  despotic  authority,  inherited 
from  their  Puritan  ancestors ;  all  contributed  to  qualify  the 
people  of  the  United  Colonies  for  a  system  of  self-govern 
ment,  at  the  very  moment  which  saw  their  national   inde 
pendence   consummated.     In  their  local  affairs,   each  com 
munity  of  Anglo-Saxon  pioneers,  constituted  within  itself  a 
limited  miniature  republic,  and  not  a  man  among  them  had 
been  taught  to    rely  for   protection   upon    any  government, 
other    than    that   primitive    police   which    he    had    himself 
assisted  in  creating;  and  for  personal  protection  his  reliance 
was  in  the  quick  eye,  the  sure  weapon,  and  the  strong  arm. 
These  were  among  the   important  elements  which  qualified 
the  early  patriots  of  America,  for  the  grand  experiment  of  a 
popular  government. 

With  these  truths  impressed  upon  his  mind,  Lafayette 
could  not  be  blind  to  the  disparaging  contrast  presented  by 
his  own  countrymen  at  the  close  of  the  French  Revolution  in 
1830.  In  a  contest  of  only  three  days,  the  Parisians,  inhabi 
tants  of  a  single  city,  had  overturned  one  of  the  ancient 


18         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

dynasties  of  their  own*  powerful  nation.  They  had  driven 
their  monarch  into  precipitate  exile ;  burned  the  throne  of 
state  in  the  public  street,  before  the  doors  of  the  Royal  Palace ; 
dissolved  the  legislative  department,  annulled  the  judiciary, 
and  left  themselves  without  a  government.  The  whole  affair 
was  "  French,"  from  first  to  last.  It  was  an  act  of  impulse 
performed  by  an  impulsive  people,  without  any  immediate 
necessity,  or  any  definite  object. 

The  greatest  and  most  immediate  act  of  despotism  of  which 
Charles  X.  had  been  guilty,  was  the  suppression  of  public 
sentiment  by  muzzling  -the  public  press;  an  offence  of  suffi 
cient  magnitude  to  arouse  the  popular  indignation  it  is  true, 
but  one  which  in  all  human  probability  might  have  been 
corrected  without  bloodshed  or  revolution.  The  parties  most 
aggrieved,  however,  were  the  editors  and  the  higher  classes, 
whereas  the  brunt  of  the  fight  fell  on  the  workingmen. 
France  is  not  like  America,  and  the  people  of  France  are  not 
like  the  people  of  the  United  States.  In  France,  the  papers 
are  read,  comparatively,  by  very  few  of  what  we  call  "  the 
people,"  the  masses,  the  men  who  give  bone,  muscle,  and 
nerve  to  any  nation.  In  the  United  States  it  is  different. 
Here  everybody  reads  the  newspapers ;  the  news  of  the  day 
forms  a  very  large  part  in  the  economy  of  the  life  of  the 
American  workingman,  and  the  freer  and  bolder  the  press, 
the  better  he  likes  it.  It  would  be  safer  to  stop  his  bread 
and  butter,  than  to  stop  his  newspaper,  or  what  is  quite  as 
important,  deprive  it  of  that  interesting  spice  which  the  free 
discussion  of  political  topics  and  public  men  imparts  to  the 
diurnal  publication.  To  silence  or  muzzle  the  public  press 


THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  OP  1830.          19 

of  the  United  States,  would  consequently  come  home  with 
telling  effect  to  the  very  hearts  and  bosoms  o^f  the  working 
classes  of  the  country.  Abolitionism,  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law, 
and  even  the  Maine  Liquor  Law  would  sink  into  insignificance 
in  comparison  with  this,  and  it  is  questionable  whether  the 
known  respect  of  our  citizens  for  the  laws  and  authorities  of 
the  land,  would  be  sufficient  to  restrain  the  just  and  over 
whelming  indignation  that  would  grow  out  of  so  arbitrary  an 
act. 

But,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  not  so  in  France,  and  it  was  not 
so  at  the  time  of  the  revolution  in  1830.  Editors  and  poli 
ticians  were  the  parties  most  directly  aggrieved  by  the  act  of 
their  sovereign,  and  as  the  editors  and  politicians  were  not 
alone  sufficient  to  cope  with  the  government,  they  found  it 
necessary  to  enlist  the  sympathies  of  the  populace.  This  was 
easily  done  by  careful  conversations  in  the  cafes  of  Paris ; 
and  by  reiterating  and  recalling  other  instances  of  real  or 
imaginary  wrong,  it  was  quite  as  easy  to  make  the  lower 
classes  believe  that  their  bread  and  wine,  the  two  staves  of  a 
Frenchman's  life,  depended  upon  the  overthrow  of  the  Bour 
bons.  Matters  having  been  arranged  on  this  basis,  the  popu 
lace  took  it  into  their  heads  to  get  up  a  revolution,  and  they 
had  it ;  but  when  the  work  was  consummated,  and  the  excite 
ment  over,  they  were  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  do  with 
themselves.  They  had  built  barricades,  sung  the  Marseillaise, 
and  massacred  the  government  troops  to  their  hearts'  content, 
and  when  the  thing  was  done,  and  the  lassitude  of  satiety  had 
taken  the  place  of  enthusiasm,  they  were  quite  willing  to 
settle  down  again  under  a  monarchy.  But  the  inspiring 


20  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

words  "  Vive  la  Rcpublique  /"  uttered  by  a  sans  culotte,  was 
the  suggest!^  of  a  new  idea.  It  sent  a  thrill  like  an  electric 
shock  through  the  whole  Parisian  heart,  and  the  cry  was 
echoed  and  re-echoed  through  the  thronged  streets  of  the 
insane  city.  It  was  at  this  turn  in  the  tide  of  Parisian 
impulse,  that  Lafayette  stepped  forth  upon  the  balcony  of  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  above  the  heads  of  the  excited  multitude,  lead 
ing  by  the  hand  a  scion  of  the  House  of  Orleans.  A  motion 
of  his  honored  hand  was  the  signal  for  universal  silence,  but 
again  arose  the  cry  "  Vive  la  Republique  /" — "  Vive  Lafayette, 
le  President  Premier  /"  Silence  was  again  restored,  and  the 
aged  patriot — the  Father  of  his  people,  waving  aside  the 
preferred  honor,  in  paternal  tones  addressed  the  impulsive 
populace.  He  told  them  it  was  too  soon  for  the  Republic ; 
that  the  transition  by  a  single  step  from  a  known  policy  to 
one  unknown  and  untried,  would  be  fatal  alike  to  public 
peace  and  private  happiness,  and,  in  a  word,  that  France  was 
unprepared  to  enter  upon  the  experiment  of  popular  sove 
reignty.  Under  such  circumstances,  Lafayette,  wisely  tem 
porizing  with  the  inflammable  element  by  which  he  was  sur 
rounded,  ventured  to  recommend  a  medium  course.  He 
advised  that  a  sovereign  should  be  chosen  by  the  popular 
will,  and  with  a  firm  voice  nominated  on  the  spot,  the  man 
who  stood  at  his  side,  Louis  Philippe,  Duke  of  Orleans ! 

This  nomination  was  received  with  a  shout  of  approval 
which  shook  the  old  palace  to  its  foundation,  and  Louis 
Philippe  was  there  chosen  by  acclamation,  to  be  the  "citizen 
king  of  the  French!"  Thus  ended  the  revolution  of  1830, 
begun  and  finished  within  three  days  in  the  city  of  Paris, 


LOUIS    PHILIPPE.  21 

and  with  this  denouement  the  people  went  back  to  their  work 
shops  and  sour  wine,  fully  satisfied  that  they  had  accom 
plished  a  glorious  triumph  over  despotism  !  * 

But  time,  wore  on.  The  good  Lafayette  had  been  gathered 
to  his  fathers,  and  the  "  citizen  king  "  proved  in  the  end  to 
be  anything  but  a  republican.  In  admitting  Louis  Philippe 
to  the  sovereignty  of  France,  the  people,  if  they  had  any 
definite  object  in  view  at  all,  aimed  at  the  establishment  of  a 
new  principle  in  their  government.  They  sought  to  do  away 
with  the  old  idea  of  "legitimacy,"  and  to  introduce  in  its 
stead  the  elective  system.  They  were  willing  to  be  governed 
by  a  king,  but  that  king  must  be  one  of  their  own  choosing  ; 
they  were  willing  to  live  under  a  monarchy,  but  the  mon 
arch  must  be  one  of  their  own  creation.  This  did  not  meel 
the  approbation  of  Louis  Philippe.  He  had  a  large  family 
of  the  blood  royal  to  provide  for,  and  although  he  made  the 
most  of  his  time  in  amassing  a  stupendous  fortune  during  his 
reign,  he  had  no  idea  of  allowing  the  Orleans  dynasty  to 
expire  at  his  death,  if  he  could  find  it  in  his  power  to  prevent 
such  a  catastrophe. 

It  was  quite  natural  under  the  circumstances,  therefore, 
that  he  should  shape  his  course  with  a  view  to  a  legitimate 
succession,  and  in  doing  so,  as  a  matter  of  course,  he  ran 
bolt  against  the  most  sensitive  chord  of  popular  sentiment. 
The  press,  in  the  most  delicate  manner,  reminded  his  majesty 
of  the  events  of  July,  1830,  and  his  majesty  retorted  by 

*  In  derision  of  "  legitimacy"  Louis  Philippe  was  denominated,  with  more  of 
terseness  than  piety,  "Roi  fie  France, par  la  voix  dupeuple  et  nonpar  la  grace 
do  Dieu  /' 


I 

22  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

restricting  the  privilege  of  the  printer.  Like  the  exiled  king 
who,  but  a  few  years  before,  had  fled  from  French  territory 
leaving  his  crown  behind  him — but  too  happy  in  the  reflection 
that  his  head  was  not  in  it — Louis  Philippe  committed  the 
fatal  error.  He  placed  the  press  under  censorship,  and  put 
a  muzzle  on  the  types.  The  corps  editorial  and  the  repub 
lican  aristocracy  again  had  recourse  to  the  cafes,  the  sub 
urbs,  and  the  vin  haunts  of  the  metropolis ;  another  revolution 
was  gotten  up,  and  in  a  brief  space  of  time  the  "  citizen  king  " 
found  it  convenient  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  illustrious 
predecessor  and  take  up  his  abode  in  England.  On  the  26th 
day  of  February,  1848,  Louis  Philippe  was  dethroned,  and 
Monsieur  Lamartine,  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  whole  people, 
Declared  France  to  be  a  Republic  / 


NATIONAL   BEVERAGES.  23 


CHAPTER    II. 

NATIONAL  BEVERAGES— THB  FRENCH  REPUBLIC— Louis  NAPOLEON'  .BONAPARTB. 

"  They  were  red-hot  with  drinking  ; 
So  full  of  valor  that  they  smote  the  air 
For  breathing  in  their  faces." 

SHAKSPEARE. 

THE  cheap  wines  of  France  have  much  to  answer  for. 
They  have  a  marvellous  effect  upon  the  political  temper  of 
the  people,  and  hence,  upon  the  government  itself.     They 
have  done  more  to  foment  revolution  than  all  other  causes 
combined.   They  exhilarate  without  intoxicating.   They  send  a 
genial  glow  through  the  veins,  and  make  men  at  once  valiant, 
voluble  and  saucy ;  they  produce  a  momentary  chivalric  enthu 
siasm,  bold,  daring,  and  uncompromising ;  and  as  the  French 
populace  drink  these  wines  as  freely  as  the  Americans  drink 
water,  we  should  not  be  surprised  when  we  witness  the  effects 
in  emeutes,  insubordination,  and  revolution.      How  different 
the  national  beverage  of  old  England.     ALE — strong,  dreamy, 
and  stupefying.     Ale — "  pale,"  or  "  nutbrown,"  "  double  X," 
"old,"  "new,"  or  "half-and-half;"  it  is  all  the  same  in  its 
results.     As  the  Frenchman  partakes  of  the  character  of  his 
light  wines,  gay,  buoyant,  and  sprightly,  so  the  Englishman 


24        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

personifies  his  beverage  in  his  rotund,  sluggish,  and  contented 
habits.  Give  your  Englishman,  after  a  day's  labor,  his  mug 
of  ale  with  a  bit  of  cheese,  a  pipe  of  tobacco,  and  a  compa 
nion  or  two  at  the  ale-house  table,  and  he  will  care  little 
who  is  prime  minister  or  sovereign.  Of  all  the  beverages  in 
the  world  to  keep  people  quiet,  I  would  recommend  the  ale 
of  old  England.  In  fact,  the  study  of  the  subject  of  national 
beverages  might  form  a  profitable  theme  in  the  political 
economy  of  all  nations,  and  especially  of  despotic  dynasties. 
Cheap  wines  should  never  be  allowed.  Louis  Napoleon  may 
profit  by  this  hint,  and  perhaps,  all  things  else  being  propi 
tious,  secure  a  succession. 

Every  nation  has  its  beverage  and  its  drinking  cuV.oms,  as 
distinctly  marked  as  its  language,  or  its  general  habits. 
The  French,  English,  and  German,  will  sit  the  night  out  in 
social  carouse,  at  a  single  table.  The  Irishman  takes  his 
"poteen"  at  random,  or  wherever  he  can  get  it.  The 
Portuguese  sips  his  port,  with  an  elegant  and  courteous  grace. 
The  true  Castilian  demands  the  best  of  the  vintage,  and  will 
utter  his  «  Gracia  Dios"  over  every  bumper.  He  seldom 
usurps  the  prerogative  of  the  low  priesthood,  by  getting 
intoxicated.  In  spite  of  the  prohibitary  law  of  the  Koran, 
the  Turk  drinks  bis  sherbet.  The  Chinese  are  tea-drinkers, 
and  for  intoxication  they  resort  to  opium.  In  the  Argentine 
mate  is  the  national  beverage.  And  in  the  United  States 
water  is  the  staple  thirst-quencher,  though  we  do  partake  of 
the  good  things  of  every  clime,  from  the  finest  cogniac  down 
to  rye  whisky  of  home  manufacture. 

Your  German,  now,  will  dispose  of  his  wishy-washy  lager- 


THE  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  OF  1848.  25 

bier,  by  the  gallon,  with  little  more  than  a  physical  effect 
for  which  he  finely  a  ready  antidote.  Men  of  certain  tempe 
raments  will  get  intoxicated  on  lager-bier ;  but  most  men, 
accustomed  to  it,  will  absorb  a  keg  of  the  article  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  with  no  other  effect  than  the  inconvenience  of 
repletion.  The  petty  kings  and  princes  of  the  Germanic 
confederation  would  have  little  to  fear  from  popular  ebullition 
if  they  would  confine  their  subjects  to  the  distinct  national 
beverage — lager-bier.  But  the  people,  although  they  like  it, 
are  not  satisfied  Avith  it  alone.  It  is  neither  one  thing*  nor 
the  other.  A  man  must  drink  an  uncomfortable  quantity  to 
become  either  exhilarated  or  stupefied,  and  so  they  qualify  it 
with  an  alternation  of  French  wine.  This  may  afford  a  key 
to  the  whole  secret  of  the  late  Germanic  revolutions.  Had 
Louis  Philippe  contrived  to  change  the  beverage  of  France, 
from  buoyant  and  exhilarating  wines  to  plain  English  ale, 
and  let  the  printers  alone,  he  might  have  reigned  to  the  day 
of  his  death,  and  left  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  a  king 
instead  of  a  refugee.  But  Louis  Philippe  was  more  of  a 
man  than  a  philosopher,  and  as  a  consequence  he  lost  his 
crown,  and  his  heirs  their  succession. 

In  February,  1848,  France  was  again  without  a  govern 
ment. 

There  was  now  but  one  sentiment  animating  the  French 
heart,  and  that  sentiment  demanded  the  establishment  of  a 
republic.  Lamartine,  the  purest  and  soundest  Frenchman  of 
the  day,  took  the  lead  in  the  formation  of  a  provisional 
council,  and  immediately  became  associated  with  a  few  of 
the  leading  spirits  of  the  revolution,  including  some  of  the 

2 


26         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

best,  and  some  of  the  worst  men  of  the  time.  They  declared 
the  republic,  and  having  constituted  themselves  a  govern 
ment  pro  tempore,  proceeded  to  make  arrangements  for  the 
election  of  a  president. 

Mr.  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  at  that  time  a  refugee, 
in  England.  In  the  year  1841,  he  had  attempted,  at  an 
obscure  town,  to  get  up  a  revolution,  under  the  prestige  of 
his  uncle's  memory,  on  his  own  account,  and  failed.  He  was 
laughed  at  for  his  silly  faux  pas,  and  in  order  to  restrain  his 
youthful  impetuosity,  Louis  Philippe  shut  him  up  in  the 
Chateau  of  Ham,  under  a  sentence  of  perpetual  imprison 
ment.  From  this  confinement  he  managed  to  escape  in  the 
garb  of  a  laborer,  made  good  his  retreat  across  the  frontiers, 
and  took  refuge  in  Belgium.  Thence  he  made  his  way  to 
England,  where  he  remained  until  the  overthrow  of  Louis 
Philippe.  This  personage  now  presented  himself  to  the 
provisional  government,  and  in  polite  terms,  tendered  his 
congratulations  and  his  services.  The  congratulations  were 
received,  but  the  services  were  declined  ;  and  he  was  very 
plainly  given  to  understand,  that  his  presence  in  French 
ground  was  unnecessary,  and  perhaps,  injurious,  at  a  period 
so  critical. 

With  all  his  follies  and  vagaries,  Louis  Napoleon  had  in 
his  composition  a  spice  of  the  old  stock,  and  not  relishing 
the  cavalier  reception  he  had  met  with  at  the  hands  of  the 
"  provisional  government,"  he  resolved  to  trim  his  sails  to  the 
popular  breeze,  and  try  his  fortune  under  the  new  regime. 

He  had  been  a  prince,  an  exile,  a  refugee,  a  revolutionist,  a 
prisoner  for  life,  and  a  roystering  b'hoy  in  the  purlieus  of' 


LOUIS    JSiAPOLEOtf    BONAPARTE.  27 

Church  street,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  he  doubtless 
deemed  it  strange  if  out  of  all  these  vicissitudes  and  transi 
tions  he  had  not  picked  up  enough  of  experience  to  make 
a  statesman. 

Proud  of  his  imperial  name,  he  was  an  aristocrat  in  every 
vein;  but  he  talked  republicanism  as  volubly  as  the  most 
ultra  "Red,"  and  had  sufficient  tact  to  secure  first  a  seat 
in  the  National  "  •:•  nbly,  and  finally,  his  election  to  the 
presidential  chan.  .1  the  republic.  His  term  of  office  was  to 
extend  during  four  years,  deducting  the  interregnum  between 
the  declaring  of  the  republic,  and  the  time  of  his  inaugura 
tion.  The  election  for  president  took  place  on  the  10th  and 
llth  days  of  December,  1848,  and  he  was  inaugurated  presi 
dent  in  the  early  part  of  1849.  The  following  was  the  vote 
rendered  on  this  occasion. 

For  Louis  Napoleon,  5,524,520.  For  General  Cavaignac, 
1,448,302.  For  Ledru  Rollin,  371,431.  For  all  others, 
Tl,999. 

France  had  now  attained  the  topmost  round  in  the  lad 
der  of  her  ambition.  She  was  a  republic,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  universal  suffrage !  She  had  a  president  and  legislature 
chosen  by  the  ballots  of  the  entire  people. 

This  state  of  things  was  not  the  result  of  an  impulsive 
tumult.  It  was  the  calm  deliberate  act  of  reflection 
(if  Frenchmen  do  reflect),  and  every  man,  when  he  voted  for 
president,  knew,  or  ought  to  have  known,  what  he  was  about. 
There  was  Lamartine,  and  other  good  men,  it  is  true,  who 
would  have  been,  either  of  them,  as  a  father  to  the  people, 
but  the  people  chose  Louis  Napoleon.  This  was  their  first 


28  A   DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

act  in  the  republican  drama— their  debut  in  the  character  of 
freemen,  and  if  they  erred  the  world  looked  on  with  indul 
gence. 

The  whole  event  was  one  of  deep  interest  to  the  people  of 
the  United  States  of  America.  For  the  Americans,  although 
determined  to  stand  on  their  own  ground,  and  to  enter 
upon  no  "entangling  alliances"  with  other  powers,  feel  a 
direct  sympathy  in  the  efforts  of  any  and  every  people  who 
make  the  struggle  for  freedom,  and  popular  sovereignty. 
When  France  threw  away  her  crown,  and  burned  her  throne, 
in  1830,  America  rejoiced.  She  gave  vent  to  her  gratifi 
cation,  by  public  demonstrations,  illuminations,  processions, 
and  addresses.  The  fleur-de-lis  had  been  cast  aside,  and 
the  tri-color  mingled  its  folds  with  the  stripes  and  stars  of 
our  own  blessed  Union.  When,  in  1848,  France  abolished  the 
monarchy,  and  declared  for  the  republic,  the  people  of  the 
United  States  renewed  their  congratulations,  but  when  they 
elected  Louis  Napoleon  as  president,  they  saw  plainly  the 
forecast  shadow  of  coming  events,  and  were  silent. 

But  France  was  content  with  her  own  act — she  was  gay, 
frivolous,  and  happy— she  thought  she  had  secured  the  boon 
of  civil  liberty.  Alas !  what  a  mistake.  With  a  republican 
government,  and  the  right  to  choose  their  rulers,  the  people 
imagined  that  nothing  was  left  them  to  do  but  to  enjoy  them 
selves!  Well,  France  is  France,  and  it  would  be  difficult, 
with  all  her  enlightenment,  to  make  her  rational. 

With  all  the  glories  of  science  which  illlustrate  her 
name;  with  all  the  magnificence  of  her  works  of  art, 
and  the  genius  of  her  artists;  with  all  her  triumphs 


LOUIS    NAPOLEON,    PRESIDENT.  29 

in  literature  and  in  arras,  France  is  still  frivolous,  fan 
tastic,  and  unreflecting.  She  has  within  her  all  the  elements 
of  grandeur  and  power,  but  not  of  rational  freedom.  Eng 
land  may  sustain  a  republic — France  never !  Subjects  cannot 
become  good  citizens  in  a  moment.  Men  must  be  educated 
to  freedom.  The  early  republicans  of  the  United  States  of 
America  had  more  than  a  century  of  practical  training  in 
the  theory  of  self-government,  before  they  ventured  on  the 
bold  experiment,  and  when  they  set,  about  it,  they  did  so 
with  a  will — a  calm,  fixed  resolution,  and  they  maintained 
that  resolution  through  a  tedious,  unequal,  and  bloody  war 
of  seven  years,  against  one  of  the  most  powerful  nations  of 
the  earth  !  France  fought  three  days  in  the  city  of  Paris, 
in  1830,  against  her  oppressor!  Would  she  have  maintained 
that  fight  seven  days,  had  it  been  necessary  to  accomplish  the 
object?  Doubtful.  When  the  people  of  France 'have  the 
nerve  to  sustain  a  seven  years'  war  with  despotism,  they  will 
deserve  a  popular  government,  and  be  prepared  to  sustain  and 
enjoy  it.  Till  then  their  emeutes  and  revolutions  are  nothing 
but  fillagree — the  mere  effervescence  of  the  wine-cellar ! 

Under  the  circumstances  in  which  France  was  placed  in 
1848,  the  election  of  Mr.  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  for  pre 
sident,  was  an  appropriate  choice,  because  the  people  having 
had  their  periodical  amusement,  gave  little  thought  to  the 
future.  The  new  president  knew  the  calibre  and  temper  of 
Frenchmen  better  than  they  knew  themselves,  and  as  the 
title  of  president  was  but  secondary  in  his  ambitious  fancy, 
he  was  not  long  in  preparing  to  reach  the  primary  obj  3Ct. 
The  imperial  diadem  of  his  uncle,  Napoleon  the  Great,  glit- 


30         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

tered  in  his  view,  and  lie  determined  to  seize  it.  He  flattered 
the  vanity  of  the  populace,  feted  the  array,  and  restrained 
the  legislature  and  the  press,  and  just  before  the  comple 
tion  of  his  presidential  term,  he  accomplished  his  notorious 
coup  d'etat  of  December  2nd,  1851,  and  in  a  single  night 
reduced  the  Republic  to  an  Empire !  During  that  eventful 
night,  those  statesmen  and  general  officers  who  were 
known  to  be  attached  to  the  republic  from  principle,  were 
each  aroused  from  their  slumbers  by  a  corporal's  guard, 
arrested  in  their  beds,  and  thrown  forthwith  into  prison, 
from  which  they  were  soon  after  banished,  by  the  imperial 
order,  and  sent  to  terminate  their  existence  under  tropical 
rigor  at  Cayenne.  The  public  press  was  instantly  silenced, 
or  compelled,  on  pain  of  banishment  or  death,  to  sustain  the 
despotic  act.  A  few  executions  took  place,  and  then  the  work 
was  accomplished.  No  revolt  occurred,  but  little  resistance  was 
made,  no  expression  of  popular  indignation  was  heard.  To 
those  who  have  studied  the  peculiarities  of  that  nation,  this 
circumstance  created  no  surprise.  France  had  attained  the 
acme  of  despotism,  yet  her  people  tamely  and  disgracefully 
acquiesced.  The  men  who  had  so  recently  built  barricades  and 
poured  the  blood  of  their  innocent  countrymen  through  the 
streets  of  Paris,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  depose  a  king  of 
their  own  ^choosing,  and  build  up  a  republic,  calmly  looked 
on,  saw  that  republic  wrested  from  them  to  gratify  the 
ambitious  will  of  a  single  man,  and  had  not,  seemingly,  the 
courage,  or  the  disposition  to  prevent  it. 
•  Still,  with  all  his  audacity,  Mr.  President  Bonaparte 
ass  imed  an  extraordinary  virtue.  He  graciously  announced 


LOUIS    NAPOLEON,    EMPEROR.  31 

that  he  would  submit  his  right  to  the  title  of  emperor  to  the 
sovereign  will  of  the  people,  and  that,  ad  interim,  or  until  an 
election  could  be  held  to  determine  whether  he  should  be 
permitted  to  wear  the  imperial  diadem  or  not,  he  would  exer 
cise  the  prerogative  of  emperor  pro  forma  only.  This  course 
was-  rendered  the  more  necessary,  perhaps,  from  the  fact  that 
one  or  more  of  the  leading  powers  of  Europe  refused  to  recoo*_ 
nize  the  empire  until  the  people  of  France  had  sanctioned  it 
with  their  votes. 

Preparations  for  an  election  were  accordingly  made.  The 
right  of  universal  suffrage  was  still  left  to  the  people,  and 
they  were  now  called  upon  to  say,  of  their  own  accord, 
whether  they  would  retain  that  august  privilege,  or  cast  it 
from  them.  The  result  proved  that  they  were  incapable  of 
self-government.  The  people  of  France  voted  away  their  own 
liberty.  That  Republic,  for  the  attainment  of  which  they 
had  fought  so  valorously  when  under  a  transient  "excitement, 
was  now  deliberately  abandoned.  The  empire  was  sustained, 
and  the  coup  d'etat  endorsed  by  an  immense  majority  of 
the  popular  vote,  and  Louis  Napoleon  was  accordingly 
crowned,  and  ascended  the  throne  of  his  uncle  with  the  title 
of  Napoleon  III. 

Here  we  find  the  external  and  the  internal  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  the  people  of  France  possessed  under  the  Republic 
of  1848,  more  liberty  than  they  were  capable  of  employing 
and  enjoying  rationally,  and  yet  these  very  people,  who  could 
not  govern  themselves,  when  they  come  to  the  United  States, 
assume  to  improve  upon  our  system  of  government !  They 
who  could  not  maintain  their  own  liberty  when  they  had  it, 


32        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

seek  to  instruct  us  in  maintaining  and  improving  ours  !  They 
offer  us  Red-republicanism,  and  talk  of  universal  suffrage,  as 
though  France  had  been  the  cradle  of  liberty,  and  the  United 
States  no  more  than  a  novice  in  the  science  of  free  govern 
ment.  It  is  not  unlikely,  if  we  should  give  them  what  they 
demand,  universal  suffrage,  they  would,  aided  by  the  impul 
sive  and  irrational  Germans,  vote  away  our  liberties  as  cheaply 
as  they  did  their  own  !  No,  no  ;  if  Frenchmen  prefer  a  des 
potic  empire  to  a  republican  government,  this  is  not  the 
country  of  their  desires,  and  before  they  seek  to  instruct  us 
in  the  appliances  of  civil  liberty,  let  them  show  us  that  they 
themselves  understand  the  rationale  of  those  appliances. 


ALL  ARE  NOT  COMPETENT  TO  GOVERN.         33 


CHAPTER    III. 

HUMAN  EQUALITY— TAXATION  AND  REPRESENTATION. 

"  All  men  are  created  equal." 

DECLARATION  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE. 

AMERICAN  REPUBLICANISM  implies  popular  sovereignty. 
But  when  it  says  the  people  shall  govern,  it  means  that  they 
shall  govern  to  the  extent  of  their  intellectual  and  moral 
capacity.  The  spirit  of  our  institution  does  not  presuppose 
that  every  man  is  competent  to  govern  or  to  take  a  part  in 
the  government.  It  does  not  presuppose  that  all  are  quali 
fied  to  choose  their  rulers — or  if  it  does  admit  this  principle 
as  a  general  rule,  it  reserves  the  right  to  determine  the  excep 
tions  to  the  rule.  Under  this  reservation  three  classes  of 
citizens,  native  born  or  otherwise,  are  especially  prohibited 
from  taking  any  part  in  public  affairs — even  from  the  right 
to  vote.  This  settles  the  question,  that  however,  all  men  may 
be  created  equal  in  the  language  of  the  Declaration,  they 
are  not  equal  under  the  law  of  the  land,  and  that  inequality 
is  the  result  of  their  personal  incapacity  to  perform  the  re 
sponsible  duties  of  free,  honest,  and  intelligent  citizens.  The 
law  declares  them  incompetent  on  account  of  either  a  moral 
or  a  mental  inability. 

To  declare  equality  in  the  contracted,  strict  sense  of  the 
2* 


34         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

term  would  be  to  declare  that  mind  and  matter  are  identical. 
What  is  equality  but  stagnation  ?  Equality  is  not  found,  and 
cannot  be  attained  in  the  moral,  social,  physical,  or  elemental 
universe.  Inequality  is  the  source  of  action;  action  is  the 
source  of  life,  thought,  fruition.  It  is  attraction  and  repulsion 
that  cause  the  electric  particles  to  vibrate,  and  the  needle  to 
point  the  north.  Equalize  the  attractive  power,  and  the  com 
pass  becomes  inert,  the  chemistry  of  vegetation  is  no  more, 
and  the  principle  of  life  ceases  to  act.  It  is  on  the  unequal 
ground  that  the  pure  stream  meanders,  or  rushes  onward  in 
tbe  full  vigor  of  vitality ;  but  in  the  equilibrium  of  the  stag 
nant-pool  the  waters  become  fetid  and  repulsive. 

If  the  earth  were  an  even  plain,  how  the  eye  would  weary 
over  it !  Draw  the  misty  vapors  for  ever  from  the  sky,  and  it 
would  lose  its  grandeur.  Let  the  hues'  of  the  tlowers  be 
equalized  into  a  single  tint,  and  there  would  be  no  attraction 
to  please  the  sense  of  the  optic  nerves.  So  is  it  in  the  moral 
and  social  world.  It  is  the  inequality  in  desires,  necessities, 
taste,  genius,  station,  talent,  power,  and  mind,  that  calls  forth 
the  energy  of  man,  and  causes  him  to  invent,  achieve,  amass, 
adorn,  aspire,  or  toil,  and  so  gives  zest  to  life,  and  impetus  to 
the  on-rolling  car  of  progress. 

Establish  equality  in  these  things,  and  a  moral  paralysis 
would  pervade  the  earth.  The  perfection  of  the  universal 
system  is  the  result  of  superior  and  subordinate  inequalities, 
the  attractive  power  of  the  superior  orbs  controlling  the 
motion  of  the  inferior,. thus  consummating  the  harmonious 
equilibrium  of  the  great  whole,  and  evincing  the  omnipotent 
and  perfect  wisdom  of  Almighty  God. 


THE    UNFRANCHISED    CLASSES.  35 

To  argue,  therefore,  that  the  founders  of  the  Republic 
asserted  a  contrary  theory,  or  that  they  meant  to  be  under 
stood  as  declaring  all  men  "  equal "  in  intelligence,  genius,  or 
morals ;  that  all  men  are  equally  competent  for  self  govern 
ment  or  even  self  protection,  were  but  to  insult  their  intelli 
gence  and  degrade  them  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

The  classes  to  which  I  have  alluded  as  forbidded  to  parti 
cipate  in  the  government,  are  the  idiots,  the  insane,  and  the 
convicted  felons.  The  first  two  classes  are  declared  to  be 
non  compos  mentis,  or  mentally  incompetent ;  the  last  is 
declared  to  be  morally  incompetent ;  and  here  we  find  the 
great  principle  laid  down,  and  universally  recognized,  that  in 
order  to  exercise  the  full  functions  of  a  free  citizen,  the  indi 
vidual  must  be  both  mentally  and  morally  competent  to 
exercise  those  functions  honestly  and  intelligently.  I  say 
both,  because  the  law  of  restraint  applies  to  those  in  whom 
either  of  these  disqualifications  may  be  found.  The  felon 
may  be  a  man  of  superior  mental  ability  and  refinement  of 
education,  yet  he  is  disqualified  in  consequence  of  moral 
imperfections.  On  the  other  hand,  the  idiot  or  the  lunatic 
may  possess  -the  highest  moral  qualities,  yet  they  are  dis 
qualified  on  account  of  their  mental  imbecility. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  our 
institutions  both  require,  that  in  order  to  exercise  the  full 
political  prerogatives  of  a  citizen,  the  individual  must  be  of 
sufficient  intelligence,  and  of  a  mind  sufficiently  well-balanced, 
to  understand  clearly  the  nature  and  effect  of  his  political 
acts;  and  he  must,  also  possess  a  moral  sentiment,  sound 


36  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

enough  to  ensure  the  exercise  of  his  prerogative  to  honest 
purposes. 

Thus  far  the  law  performs  its  duty  to  the  community,  and 
no  honest  and  sane  man  will  question  the  wisdom  of  such  a 
course  of  policy.  If  an  idiot  were  permitted  to  vote,  and 
should  be  told  to  attend  the  poll  at  an  election,  and  vote  for 
governor,  or  legislator,  or  town  officers,  he  would  answer  with 
a  vacant  stare,  and,  utterly  unable  to  comprehend  the  mean 
ing  of  the  direction,  would  turn  aside  and  walk  away.  He 
would  not  vote,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  could  not 
undei stand  either  the  process  of  voting,  the  motive  of  the 
vote,  or  the  effect  that  it  would  produce.  But  he  may  be 
induced  to  vote,  notwithstanding  the  darkness  that  encom 
passes  his  mind.  The  act  of  voting  is  a  mere  physical  act, 
and  the  idiot  may  be  led,  or  persuaded,  step  by  step,  by  some 
person  known  to  him,  to  perform  that  physical  act,  and  with 
his  own  hand  present  a  ballot  to  the  inspector  of  the  election, 
and  that  ballot  placed  in  the  box,  may  turn  the  scale  of  an 
entire  canvass,  and  thus  an  intelligent  expression  of  the  voice 
of  the  people  would  be  lost,  and  the  object  of  the  election, 
which  is  to  get  that  intelligent  expression,  defeated.  In  this 
case  the  idiot  is  but  an  automaton,  a  machine  wrought  upon 
by  the  person  who  led  him  to  the  poll,  and  who  placed  the 
ballot  in  his  hand — a  passive  instrument  in  the  hand  of  the 
demagogue. 

An  insane  man  brought  forth  to  exercise  this  delicate 
privilege,  would,  on  the  other  hand,  be  governed  by  the 
opinions  of  no  man — no  set  of  men,  He  would  have  a  policy 


THE      UNFRANCHISED    CLASSES.  37 

of  his  own.  His  visionary  imaginings  would  frame  a  new 
theory  of  government.  He  would  see,  in  the  old,  time- 
honored  system  of  the  republic,  a  thousand  errors,  and  his 
oblique  fancy  would  suggest  as  many  reforms,  adapted  to  the 
vagaries  of  his  own  distempered  organs.  He  would  select 
his  own  candidates,  make  out  his  own  ticket,  and  vote  for 
men,  who,  first  of  all,  would  pledge  themselves  to  throw  open 
the  doors  of  all  lunatic  asylums,  and  set  their  inmates  free. 
He  would  be,  par  excellence,  your  advocate  of  universal 
liberty.  What  glowing  speeches  he  would  make  from  the 
rostrum  against  the  despotism  of  society!  What  tropes, 
what  metaphors,  what  thrilling  eloquence  he  would  employ 
to  sway  the  souls  of  an  impulsive  multitude  ! 

The  convicted  felon,  the  man  void  of  moral  sentiment,  one 
who  is  impatient  of  all  legal  restraint,  and  the  foe  of  social 
government;  one  whose  selfish  propensities  absorb  the 
respect  due  to  wholesome  authority — such  an  one  would 
employ  his  political  privileges  in  attempts  to  overthrow  law 
and  order.  If  an  unprincipled  candidate  should,  by  any 
possibility,  be  presented  for  the  suffrages  of  the  people,  that 
candidate  would  be  his  choice ;  and  inasmuch  as  that  societv 
demands  the  enactment  of  laws,  he  would  seek  the  attain 
ment  of  such  laws  as  would  best  suit  his  nefarious  plans.  If 
in  his  power,  he  would  punish  virtue,  and  reward  vice.  His 
policy  would  be  a  return  to  first  principles,  where  might  takes 
the  place  of  right,  and  the  weak  have  no  protection  against 
the  strong. 

These  three  several  classes  are  in  the  spirit  and  the  letter 
of  our  laws,  declared  incompetent  for  the  performance  of  any 


38         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

public  duties,  and  are  denied  the  privilege  of  political 
suffrage ;  yet  they  are  all  citizens  in  the  common  acceptance 
of  the  term,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  all  of  them  pay 
direct  taxes  to  the  government.  The  idiot,  the  lunatic,  and 
even  the  felon,  may  be  all  men  of  property,  and  if  so,  their 
property  is  placed  under  taxation  precisely  the  same  as  the 
property  of  those  who  exercise  the  highest  and  the  freest 
political  privileges.  It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  they 
are  taxed  without  representation,  merely  because  they  are 
not  permitted  to  choose  their  representatives.  If  they  were 
taxed  as  individuals,  or  as  classes,  apart  from  the  community 
at  large :  if  the  idiots  were  taxed  as  idiots,  the  lunatics  as 
lunatics,  and  the  felons  as  felons,  this  objection  would  hold 
good  against  the  law.  But  it  is  not  so.  Taxation  in  this 
country  is  made  equal.  The  men  who  impose  the  taxes  are 
among  those  who  pay  the  taxes,  and  they  are  compelled  to 
tax  themselves  in  the  same  ratio  that  they  tax  others,  so  that 
the  party  who  does  not  vote  for  representative  is  protected 
through  the  interest  of  the  representative  himself.  No  man 
will  impose  on  himself  a  severe  tax  merely  for  the  sake  of 
being  severe  on  other  men,  but,  on  the  contrary,  out  of  respect 
for  his  own  purse,  he  will  make  the  burden  of  taxation  as 
light  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  public  necessities.  Thus, 
the  party  who  does  not  vote,  is  protected  against  oppression, 
and  thus  his  property  and  his  interests  are  as  perfectly 
represented  and  guarded,  as  the  property  and  interests  of  any 
individual  in  the  community.  If  the  party  who  does  not 
vote  is  by  any  inadvertence  subjected  to  unjust  exaction  on 
the  part  of  the  government,  the  men  who  do  vote,  and  the 


TAXATION    AND    REPRESENTATION.  39 

men  who  make  the  laws  are  subjected  to  the  same  exactions 
in  every  respect.  This  fact  should  be  a  source  of  consolation 
to  those  strong-minded  women,  who  claim  that*  their  sex 
should  be  permitted  to  vote  because  those  of  them  who  are 
so  fortunate  as  to  possess  property,  are  required  to  pay  taxes 
to  the  local  government. 

Thus  the  broad  principle,  that  taxation  is  entitled  to  repre 
sentation,  is  fully  carried  out  by  the  American  Republican 
system.  It  is  the  property,  not  the  person,  that  is  taxed ; 
and  all  property  is  represented  in  legislation.  Besides,  every 
dollar  of  tax  paid  into  the  public  treasury,  is  appropriated, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  protection,  development,  or 
improvement  of  the  property  itself;  the  improvement  of 
harbors,  and  the  protection  of  commerce  generally  : — the 
building  and  maintenance  of  public  roads,  the  removal  of 
obstructions  from  navigable  streams ;  the  making,  repairing, 
cleaning,  and  lighting  of  streets ;  the  support  of  a  police,  the 
guardianship  of  public  health,  the  support  of  a  judiciary,  the 
removal  of  criminals,  the  maintenance  of  the  poor,  and  the 
education  of  the  young,  are  all  the  fruits  of  our  healthy  and 
equable  system  of  taxation.  These  are  tangible  and  profit 
able  results,  which  every  man  can  witness,  and  which  all 
must  appreciate.  Their  beneficial  effects  fall  alike  upon  the 
voter  and  the  non-voter.  They  are  the  fruits  of  taxation  in 
a  legitimate  sense,  and  the  idiot,  or  the  insane  contributor, 
though  he  may  not  realize  the  fact,  is  pecuniarily  as  much 
the  recipient  of  those  fruits,  as  he  who  chooses  the  law 
giver. 

How  different  the  character  and  objects  of  that  species  of 


40         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

taxation  against  which  the  fathers  of  our  Republic  rebelled  ! 
In  that  case,  neither  the  person  nor  the  property  were  repre 
sented.  The  money  demanded  by  the  parent  government, 
instead  of  being  appropriated  to  the  necessities  of  the  com 
munities  who  paid  the  taxes,  was  carried  off  to  a  distant 
continent,  and  employed  in  the  support  of  a  regal  tyrant,  and 
a  voluptuous  and  profligate  aristocracy.  They  who  paid  the 
taxes  reaped  no  benefit  therefrom,  either  directly  or  indi 
rectly,  and  those  who  imposed  them,  bore  no  share  of  the 
burden.  There  was  taxation  not  only  without  representa 
tion,  but  without  a  visible  motive  or  necessity.  The  inflic 
tion  was  purely  mercenary,  and  at  length  the  oppressed 
colonists  justly  and  manfully  resisted  and  overcame  it. 

Our  system  of  government  then,  while  it  recognizes  and 
sustains  the  principle  that  taxation  is  entitled  to  representa 
tion,  also  recognizes  the  principle  that  representation  does 
not  involve,  invariably,  the  right  of  suffrage  ;  or,  in  other 
words,  that  property  may  and  must  be  represented,  even 
though  the  owner  of  the  property,  under  certain  circum 
stances,  is  not  permitted  to  choose  the  representative. 

Ilaving  recognized  and  established  the  principle,  that  there 
does  exist  in  the  human  family  a  mental  and  moral  inequa 
lity,  and  that  owing  to  this  inequality,  certain  classes  of 
citizens  are  unfranchised,  it  follows,  as  a  necessary  conse 
quence,  and  as  due  to  consistency  and  sound  justice,  that  all 
who  are  mentally  or  morally  incompetent,  should  occupy  the 
same  ground,  without  regard  to  the  causes  of  their  incompe- 
tency.  As  the  idiot  is  held  disqualified  from  exercising  the 
right  of  suffrage,  because  he  cannot  comprehend  the  full 


THE    IGNORANT    SHOULD    NOT    VOTE.  41 

force,  responsibility,  and  extent  of  the  vote,  so  any  man  of 
like  incapacity  should  be  debarred  from  voting,  whether  he 
be  an  idiot,  or  only  an  ignoramus.  The  latter  is,  in  fact,  of 
the  two,  most  likely  to  make  a  mischievous  use  of  the 
suffrage  ;  because,  with  all  his  ignorance,  he  possesses  all  the 
passions  of  humanity,  which  the  idiot  does  not  possess  to 
any  practical  degree.  These  passions  may  be  inflamed  by 
designing  men,  to  a  pitch  bordering  on  insanity,  and  thus 
whole  classes  of  frantic  enthusiasts  may  be  marshalled  by 
thousands  to  the  polls,  and  with  their  unreflecting  votes  bear 
back  the  calmer  judgment  of  the  nation.  An  appeal  to  a 
single  prejudice,  like  a  spark  of  fire  in  a  magazine,  is  alone 
sufficient  to  produce  the  direst  results.  It  produces  a  flame 
more  easily  kindled  than  subdued,  and  the  demagogue  who 
fans  it  into  life,  may  deem  himself  happy  if  he  burns  not  in 
the  general  conflagration.  Especially  does  this  view  of  our 
subject  apply  to  the  millions  of  illiterate  foreigners,  who 
come  to  us  with  their  home  prejudices  (both  religious  and 
secular),  so  sternly  fixed,  that  neither  time  nor  association 
can  ever  efface  them. 


42  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

LIFE,  LIBERTY,  AND  THE  PURSUIT  OF  HAPPINESS. 

"  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  That  all  men  are  created  equal :  That 
they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights,  among  which 
are  Life,  Liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

AMERICAN  REPUBLICANISM  recognizes  the  principle  that  all 
men  are  created  on  a  moral,  political,  and  social  equality;, 
but  it  does  not  recognize  the  principle  that  all  men  reach 
the  condition  of  manhood,  having  within  them  the  same 
moral,  political,  and  social  capacities.  To  declare  that  would 
be  to  declare  a  palpable  absurdity.  It  would  be  to  declare 
that  the  man  whose  intellectual  faculties  had  been  expended 
on  the  mixing  of  mortar,  or  the  carrying  of  a  hod,  is  compe 
tent  to  administer  the  affairs  of  a  nation,  or  superintend  the 
classic  studies  of  Cambriffe  or  Yale.  It  would  be  no  less 

O 

than  saying  that  the  idiot  is  fit  for  a  statesman,  the  rogue  for 
a  preacher,  or  the  ignorant  man  for  a  preceptor. 

Again,  it  recognizes  the  principle  that  all  men  are  endowed 
by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  nghts,  among  which 
are  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness."  But  is  there 
no  qualification  to  this  recognition  ?  Are  we  to  construe  the 


INALIENABLE    RIGHTS.  43 

sentiment  literally,  and  be  governed  in  our  intercourse  with 
mankind  by  the  simple  letter  of  the  text  ?  If  so,  it  is  appa 
rent  that  many  of  our  most  wholesome  laws,  laws  enacted 
for  the  protection  of  society,  and  of  individuals  from  violence 
and  outrage,  are  in  themselves  a  violation  of  the  inalienable 
rights  of  man.  Among  those  rights  is  the  right  to  live ; 
now,  if  that  right  is  unqualified,  by  what  authority  does 
society  take  away  the  life  of  the  murderer?  How  are  indi 
viduals  justified  in  taking  the  life  of  a  fellow-being  in  self- 
defence  ?  Both  of  these  acts  are  held  justifiable  by  the  laws  of 
Christendom  and  by  public  sentiment  everywhere,  and  yet  the 
right  to  live  is  inherent,  and,  in  a  general  sense,  inalienable 
with  all  God's  creatures,  including  the  whole  animal  kingdom 
of  which  man  is  the  chief  member.  But  this  right  may  be 
forfeited,  and  therein  we  find  the  exception  to  the  general 
rule.  This  forfeiture  of  the  right  to  live  may  be  voluntary  or 
it  may  be  involuntary.  With  man  under  the  influences  of 
civilization  it  is  at  all  times  a  voluntary  act;  because  the 
law  does  not  demand  his  life  until  he  has  voluntarily 
committed  an  act,  the  penalty  of  vvhich^he  knows  to  be  a 
forfeiture  of  the  right  to  live.  The  involuntary  forfeiture  is 
where  life  is  given  up  to  serve  some  useful  or  necessary 
purposes  to  the  living.  All  things  are  created  for  some 
object  beyond  the  mere  enjoyment  of  life.  If  this  be  not 
so,  why  is  it  that  we  find  in  every  human  breast  the  innate 
sense  of  a  future  state  ?  There  is  not  a  barbarian  on  the  face 
of  the  globe,  nor  a  civilized  man  living,  who  has  not  (coupled 
with  the  possession  of  the  natural  faculties  of  his  species),  an 
indistinct  but  positive  idea  of  a  spiritual  existence,  and  the 


44  A    DEFENCE    OF   THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

realization  -of  an  overruling,  superhuman  power ;  and  this 
instinctive  impression,  apart  from  the  testimony  of  revealed 
religion,  is,  in  itself,  sufficient  evidence  of  a  preordained 
purpose  in  human  existence  beyond  the  mere  necessities  of 
physical  life.  But  besides  this  spiritual  purpose,  the  mere, 
instincts  of  animal  existence  bear  almost  conclusive  testimony 
that  one  of  the  purposes  of  animal  life  is  the  sustenance  of 
life  in  other  bodies.  For  example :  the  animalcula  supplies 
food  to  the  insect,  the  insect  to  the  subordinate  classes  of  birds 
and  beasts,  the  subordinate  birds  and  beasts  to  the  superior 
animals,  and  all  affording  nourishment  to  man,  who,  by  the 
supremacy  of  his  reasoning  faculties,  is  enabled  to  bring  all 
other  animals  into  subjection  to  his  appetite  and  his  will. 
The  law  of  nature,  and  of  nature's  God,  seems  to  have 
ordained  this  as  a  living  principle  of  the  universe,  and  where 
a  life  is  given  up  under  this  law,  it  may  be  designated  as  the 
involuntary  forfeiture  of  the  right  to  live,  because  the  right  is 
alienated ;  it  ceases  when  the  necesities  of  others  demand  its 
sacrifice. 

But  throughout  the  entire  economy  of  this  principle  it  is 
perceivable  that  the  inferior  in  power  and  intelligence  always 
become  the  prey  of  the  superior — the  inherent,  inalienable  right 
continues  only  until  the  creature  has  reached  a  condition  to 
fulfill  the  object  of  its  existence,  whether  that  object  be  to 
afford  food  for  others,  or  otherwise.  The  silkworm  weaves 
her  cocoon  about  her,  and  afterwards  becomes  a  butterfly. 
In  the  butterfly  transition  she  lays  her  eggs  for  a  future 
family  of  worms,  and  then  dies.  The  right  to  live  extends 
only  to  this  object,  and  when  it  is  accomplished  the  involun- 


INALIENABLE    RIGHTS.  45 

taiy  forfeiture  takes  place.  So  is  it  with  man.  The  physical 
creature  is  but  the  embodiment  of  a  spiritual  existence.  It 
is  placed  on  earth  for  a  double  purpose  ;  the  first  of  which  is 
the  preparation  of  the  spirit  for  a  future  existence,  and  the 
second  is  the  propagation  of  new  creatures  for  like  purposes ; 
and  when  these'objects  have  been  accomplished,  or  when  the 
physical  machine  is  worn  out  with  age,  the  involuntary  for 
feiture  occurs,  and  the  creature  passes  out  of  its  earthly  exis 
tence. 

But  this  inherent  right  to  live  may  be  violated.  Life  may 
be  taken  and  destroyed  without  any  useful  or  necessary 
demand,  and  when  this  occurs  among  civilized  men,  it  is  met 
with  the  Almighty  law  of  retributive  justice.  "  An  eye  for 
an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  "  Whoso  sheddeth  man's 
blood,  by  the  hand  of  man  shall  his  blood  also  be  shed." 

This  is  the  Divine  law,  and  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  the 
framers  of  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence  intended 
to  ignore  or  abrogate  it,  when  they  declared  that  the  right 
to  exist  is  inalienable  in  the  human  race.  The  philosophy  of 
American  Republicanism,  therefore,  while  it  recognizes  "  life  " 
as  one  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  man,  admits  also  the  excep 
tion,  and  takes  the  life  of  man  under  the  voluntary  forfeiture, 
whenever  the  good  of  society  demands  it. 

PERSONAL  LIBERTY  is  another  "  inalienable  right,"  which 
in  the  language  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  pertains 
to  all  men.  By  this,  I  assume,  is  meant  the  liberty  of  con 
science,  the  liberty  of  opinion  on  all  subjects,  and  the  free 
exercise  thereof,  together  with  the  unabridged  right  to  speak, 
proclaim,  write,  and  publish  whatever  sentiments  the  individual 


46         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

may  entertain,  whether  in  politics,  religion,  or  ethics  ;  the 
responsibility  of  an  improper  and  unjustifiable  use,  or  abuse 
resting  on  the  party  who  enjoys  it.  The  word  was  employed 
by  the  framers  of  the  "  Declaration,"  in  a  political  sense,  and 
as  the  antipodes  of  popular  submission  to  a  tyrannical  govern 
ment.  It  is  a  reiteration  of  the  vox  populi,  vox  Dei,  or,  in 
other  words,  that  by  divine  authority  the  voice  of  the  people 
should  be  made  paramount  in  the  government. 

Liberty  may  be  rational,  or  it  may  be  licentious ;  and  it 
must  not  be  denied  that  the  broad  use  and  interpretation  of 
the  word  has  led  thousands  to  misconstrue  its  legitimate 
intent  as  applied  by  the  fathers  of  the  Republic  to  civil  and 
religious  freedom.  It  can  never  be  supposed  that  in  proclaim 
ing  Liberty  as  one  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  all  men,  the 
Continental  Congress  meant  to  promulgate  the  idea  that  all 
men  possess  the  irrefragable  right  to  do  as  they  please  at  all 
times,  and  under  all  circumstances.  A  construction  like  that 
would  imply  the  absence  of  a  necessity  of  all  legal  restraint, 
and  the  consequent  disjointure  of  the  whole  framework  of 
society.  Under  such  a  theory  there  would  be  neither  public 
nor  private  safety.  Chaos  would  usurp  the  place  of  order, 
and  mankind,  from  the  very  instinct  of  self-preservation, 
would  be  compelled  to  return  to  the  feudal  custom,  each  man 
holding  his  possessions  and  his  -life  by  the  sword.  Liberty  to 
this  extent  would  be  irrational,  and  would  lead  to  the  most 
extravagant  licentiousness.  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  this 
feature  of  our  organic  structure  must  be  construed  with  such 
qualification  as  will  render  it  consistent  with  propriety  and 
common  sense.  It  must  be  construed  in  its  most  dignified 


INALIENABLE    RIGHTS.  47 

aspect,  precisely  as  they  intended  to  present  it — as  affording 
to  mankind  the  enjoyment  of  intellectual  freedom,  and  political 
and  social  equality  to  the  extent  of  the  jpapacity  and  adapted- 
ness  or  fitness  of  the  individual.  In  this  aspect,  Liberty 
secures  to  all  men  the  noblest  and  most  precious  boon  that 
human  wisdom  and  benevolence  can  bestow  upon  the  human 
race.  It  is  the  liberty  of  the  soul.  It  affords  to  man  an 
unrestrained  opportunity  to  exercise  the  inalienable  right  of  a 
rational,  thinking,  responsible  being,  without  accountability  to 
any  politico-religious  despotism,  whether  monarchical,  or 
hierarchical.  His  conscience  is  unfettered.  He  is  at  liberty 
to  embrace  the  theology  of  nature,  or  the  theology  of  revela 
tion,  according  to  his  ability,  his  instinct,  or  his  judgment, 
holding  himself  responsible  for  his  opinions  to  God  and  his 
conscience  alone.  This  is  one  of  the  great  fruits  of  Liberty 
as  enunciated  through  the  medium  of  American  Republican 
ism. 

But  as  the  right  of  existence  may  be  forfeited  to  the  good 
of  society,  so  it  is  with  the  natural  right  to  personal  liberty 
which  God  has  conferred  on  all  his  creatures.  If  this  clause 
in  our  national  Bill  of  Rights  were  construed  literally,  society 
would  possess  no  moral  otr  acknowledged  power  to  restrain  the 
personal  freedom  of  any  man.  The  thief,  the  burglar,  and 
the  felon  would  go  at  large  and  commit  their  depredations 
with  impunity;  the  relations  of  master  and  servant  would 
cease,  and  all  wholesome  authority  would  be  at  an  end.  A 
strict  construction  of  this  clause  would  cripple  the  resources 
of  human  intellect  and  enterprise.  It  would  reverse  the 
maxim  that  "  knowledge  is.  power,"  because  knowledge,  in  its 


48         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

true  extent,  is  acquired  by  the  comparative  few,  and  without 
legal  restraint,  the  intelligent  few  would  be  overcome  and 
held  under  subjection  to  the  obtuse  and  ignorant  many. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  lessons  in  nature  is  found  in 
that  undeviating  law  which  gives  to  mmd  the  supremacy  over 
matter,  and  every  violation  of  that  law  disturbs  the  harmony 
and  equilibrium  of  the  intellectual  world.  Man  is  but  one  in 
the  great  family  of  animal  creation,  and  being  superior  in  intel 
ligence,  he  brings  all  others  into  subjection.  The  horse,  the 
ox,  the  dog,  and  even  the  physically  powerful  and  sagacious 
elephant,  are  all  made  subservient  to  the  superior  intelligence 
of  man,  and  he  compels  them  all  to  contribute  their  material 
resources  to  his  convenience,  comfort  and  safety.  Yet  all 
these  are  endowed  by  their  Creator,  intrinsically,  with  as  per 
fect  right  to  life  and  liberty  as  man  himself. 

Who  gave  to  man  authority  to  lasso  the  noble  steed  as  he 
bounds  with  the  speed  of  the  -wind  and  the  grace  of  the 
antelope,  over  the  fertile  prairies  and  broad  pampas,  and 
bind  him  down  to  a  life  of  toil  ?  Who  authorized  man  to 
entrap  and  enslave  the  majestic  elephant?  Who  commis 
sioned  man  to  place  the  galling  yoke  upon  the  neck  of  the 
patient  ox,  and  chain  him  to  the  drudging  plough  ?  Who,  but 
the  Almighty  dispenser  of  intelligences?  WTho,  but  God 
himself?  And  does  the  prerogative  of  intelligence  end  here? 
Is  the  animal,  man,  exempt  from  the  operation  of  the  uni 
versal  law  of  nature  ?  By  no  means.  We  see  it  demonstrated 
in  every  phase  of  society — superior  intelligences  controlling 
)  the  inferior.  We  witness  it  in  the  relation  of  parent  jind 
I  child,  master  and  laborer,  the  officer,  and  his  soldiers,  the  cap- 


INALIENABLE    RIGHTS.  49 

tain  and  his  crew ;  the  master  and  his  slave.  It  is  visible  in  / 
the  mere  existence  of  the  social  classes,  and  palpable  in  the 
diversified  races  of  the  human  family.  The  higher  the  intel 
ligence,  the  nearer  is  the  approach  to  civilization,  and  the 
further  from  civilization,  the  less  do  we  find  developed  the 
faculty  for  self  protection.  The  "Bushmen"  of  Southern 
Africa,  for  example,  approach  so  near  the  brute  in  the  scale 
of  intelligence  as  to  be  incapable  of  erecting  even  the  rudest 
shelter  from  the  torrid  sun.  In  the  language  of  Governor 
Janssens  "the  burning  sky  is  their  canopy  and  the  scorching 
sand  their  bed." 

This  characteristic  argues  not  merely  the  want  of  educa 
tion,  but  even  an  inferior  instinct,  to  say  nothing  of  reason, 
because,  with  the  possession  of  hands,  the  readiest  instru 
ments  of  construction,  the  simple  law  of  self  preservation 
would  suggest  the  erection  of  artificial  shelter.     One  of  these 
men  might,  it  is  true,  by  coercion,  be  taught  to  erect  a  hovel, 
precisely  as  a  dog  may  be  taught  to  dance,  but  it  does  not 
follow  from  this  that  either  the  man  or  the  dog  could  bo 
brought  to  understand  the  principles  of  civilized  social  gov 
ernment.      We  are  constrained,  in  our  reflection  on  these 
truths,  enunciated  by  divine  authority,  to  confess,  that  the 
framers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  never  intended  to 
utter  an  absurdity  so  glaring  as  that  which  a  strict  literal 
construction  of  their  words  would  imply.     Men  are  created 
equal  in  all  natural,  social  and  political  rights,  and  those 
rights  are  to  be  enjoyed  and  exercised  in  proportion  to  the 
natural  social  and  Dolitical  faculties  of  the  individual.     This 

3 


50  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

is  the  inalienable  right  to  liberty  as  set  forth  in  the  organic 
charter  of  American  Republicanism. 

"  THE  PURSUIT  OF  HAPPINESS,"  in  the  words  of  the  Decla 
ration  of  Independence,  is  among  the  "  inalienable  "  rights  of 
man.     This  sentiment  may  be  construed  literally,  although 
happiness,  like  knowledge,  is  sometimes  pursued  under  diffi 
culties—and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  often  outruns  its 
pursuers.     Still  the  right  of  pursuit  is  inalienable— it  cannot 
be  taken  away,  and  the  exercise  of  that  right  is  universal. 
The  miser  seeks  it  in  his  accumulating  hoard— the  bride  sees 
it  in  the  perspective  of  domestic  felicity— the  prisoner  in  his 
cell  pursues  it  in  the  prospect  of  release,  and  the  dying  hope 
for  it  in  a  future  existence.     But  the  declaration  of  this  right 
as  here  set  forth,  carries  with  it  a  broader,  deeper  and  more 
ennobling  construction.     It  would  be  no  less  than  a  barba 
rous  mockery  to  deprive  a  human  being  of  all  the  elements 
of  happiness,  and  then  say  to  him,  "  You  have  the  right  to 
seek  for  happiness."     It  would  be  like  binding  a  starving 
man,  placing  a  loaf  of  bread  in  full  view,  but  beyond  his 
reach,  and  then  saying  to  him,  "  Eat  and  be  satisfied."     The 
spirit  of  our  institutions  recognizes  not  only  the  right  to  eat 
of  the  loaf,  but  also  the  right. to  obtain  it;    the  right  to 
possess,    and   the   power   of   consummating   that   right.     It 
implies'  that  all  men  possess  the  right  of  employing  their 
talents,  their  energies,  their  judgment,  and  in  fine,  all  their 
natural  powers,  in  the   rational   and    legitimate  pursuit  of 
happiness,  and  that  government  can  possess  no  innate  right 
to   shackle   or   restrain    those    functions   in   the   individual. 
Hence  the  pursuit  of  Happiness,  in  the  full  and  intrinsic 


INALIENABLE    RIGHTS.  51 

meaning  of  the  expression,  is  a  cardinal  feature  of  American 
Republicanism,  and  it  is  so  declared  in  contradistinction  with 
any  system  of  government  which  restrains  by  arbitrary  and 
despotic  acts,  the  individual  resources  of  happiness  in  its 
subjects  or  citizens. 


.52        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE   STATE-THE  SCIENCE  OF  RELIGION,  AND  THE  SCIENCE 
OF  GOVERNMENT. 

"I'll  teach  you  how  you  shall  arraign  your  conscience." 

gUAKSPEARE. 

THE  first  article  of  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  provides  as  follows  :— 

"Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  the  establishment  of 
religion,  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press ;  or 
the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the 
government  for  a  redress  of  grievances." 

This  clause  of  the  organic  law  of  the  United  States,  com 
prises  within  itself  a  limited  charter  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  The  rights  of  conscience,  the  right  of  free  speech, 
the  right  of  petition  and  an  unshackled  press.  A  free  press, 
guided  by  patriotism  and  without  licentiousness,  is  alone 
and  unaided,  the  most  powerful  and  effectual  auxiliary  of 
popular  freedom,  and  when  coupled  with  the  popular  right  to 
to  read  and  discuss,  it  becomes  invincible.  Even  despotism 
itself  fears  to  encounter  the  intellectual  illumination  of  an 
unfettered  press.  The  natural  instincts  of  man  are  freedom 
of  thought  and  action,  and  when  those  instincts  are  fed  with 


RELATIONS    OF    THE    CHUJiCH    AXD    THE    STATE.  53 

the  nutritious  aliment  of  intelligence,  they  are  irrepressible. 
They  assert  their  prerogative,  and  woe  to  the  tyrant  who 
stands  in  the  way  of  their  development !  The  despots  of  the 
old  world  understand  this  truth,  and  hence  the  press  is  for 
bidden  to  publish,  and  the  people  are  forbidden  to  read. 

But  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  is  not  to  deal  with  print 
ing  presses  or  publishers.  Our  present  theme  is  Religion 
and  Politics,  the  State  and  the  Church. 

Christianity,  which  we  regard  as  the  foundation  of  all  true 
religion,  was  in  its  original  perfection  a  simple  principle, 
embracing  the  spiritual  duties  of  man  to  his  Creator,  and  to 
himself.  Christ  himself  paid  complete  deference  to  the  State, 
and  commanded  his  disciples  to  observe  implicit  obedience  to 
the  civil  law,  and  its  authors,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
the  law  of  that  period,  being  in  the  main  mythological,  were 
"  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  God."  This  is  not  precisely  consis 
tent  with  the  opinions  expressed  recently  by  Mr.  Orestes  A. 
Brownson,  editor  of  the  Roman  Catholic  "  Review,"  in  his 
letter  to  a  gentleman  in  Warrenton,  N.  C.,  but  nevertheless 
it  is  the  doctrine  of  the  founder  of  Christianity.  In  his  letter 
Mr.  Brownson  says : — 

"  The  temporal  order,  or  civil  government,  is  not  supreme  and 
independent,  but  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  subordinate  to  the 
spiritual,"  and  he  adds,  "  the  Pope  is  the  proper  authority  to  decide 
for  me  whether  the  Constitution  of  this  country  is,  or  is  not  repug 
nant  to  the  laws  of  God." 

As  a  matter  of  course,  if  the  Pope  decides  that  it  is  repug 
nant  to  the  laws  of  God,  he,  Mr.  Brownson,  and  all  good 


54  A    DEFENCE    OE    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

Roman  Catholics,  would  disobey  them  from  a  sense  of  reli 
gious  duty. 

It  is  a  little  singular  that  this  gentleman,  in  the  same  letter, 
makes  use  of  the  following  language  : — 

u  In  matters  purely  temporal,!,  as  a  Catholic,  owe  no  obedience  to 
the  Pope,  because  he  has  received  from  Jesus  Christ,  no  authority  as 
a  temporal  sovereign  over  me." 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  purely  a  tempo 
ral  law,  and  being  temporal,  why  then  does  Mr.  Brownson 
allow  the  Pope  to  decide  for  him  upon  its  merits  ? 

I  say  the  Founder  of  Christianity  taught  us  a  different  les 
son.  When  the  chief  priests  and  the  scribes,  jealous  of  his 
growing  popularity,  resolved  if  possible  to  get  him  out  of 
the  way,  they  sought  to  ensnare  him  by  eliciting  from  him, 
some  treasonable  expression,  like  that  of  Mr.  Brownson. 

"  And  they  watched  him,  and  sent  forth  spies,  which  should  feign 
themselves  just  men,  that  they  might  deliver  him  into  the  power  and 
authority  of  the  governor.  And  they  asked  him,  saying,  Master, 
we  know  that  thou  sayest  and  teachest  rightly,  neither  acceptest 
thou  the  person  of  any,  but  teachest  the  way  of  God  truly.  Is  it 
lawful  for  us  to  give  tribute  unto  Caesar  or  no  ?" 

"  But  he  perceived  their  craftiness,  and  said  unto  them,  '  Why 
tempt  ye  me  ?  Shew  me  a  penny.  Whose  image  and  superscription 
has  it?'  They  answered  and  said,  '  Caesar's.'  And  he  said  unto  them, 
'  Render,  therefore,  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  be  Caesar's,  and 
unto  God  the  things  which  be  God's.'  "  * 

It  is  apparent  from  this,  that  Christ  himself  regarded  the 
temporal  order  supreme  in  temporal  affairs,  and  that  even 

*.8t.  Luke,  chap,  xx.,  verses  20,  21,  22,  28,  24,  and  26. 


RELATIONS    OF    THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    STATE.  55 

the  Church  must  yield  to  the  State.  This  was  the  primitive 
views  of  the  Christian  Church,  But  Mr.  Brownson  makes  it 
a  question  of  opinion  between  the  founder  of  that  Church 
and  himself.  The  issue  is  direct  and  positive.  Let  the  world 
decide  between  them. 

So  far  from  the  original  Christian  Church  holding,  or 
assuming  to  hold,  supremacy  over  the  temporal  affairs  of 
nations,  it  was  the  subject  of  Jewish  and  imperial  persecution, 
during  more  than  three  centuries  after  the  death  of  Christ, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  fourth  century,  that  Christianity  was 
even  recognized  by  the  civil  government.  It  remained  for 
the  papacy,  after  the  conversion  of  Constantine,  to  declare  its 
own  infallibility,  and  to  usurp  the  temporalities  of  men  and 
nations. 

The  pretension  asserted  by  Mr.  Brownson  in  his  letter, 
which  I  have  quoted  above,  is  but  a  stereotyped  edition  of 
the  pretensions  of  the  Church  of  which  he  is  a  member,  from 
the  time  of  the  first  Gregory  to  the  present.  But  the  pre 
tension  is  one  of  human  origin,  and  as  such  is  entitled  to  no 
consideration,  especially  since  we  find  it  refuted  by  the  direct 
teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  himself. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  these  remarks  to  question  the 
superior  interests  involved  in  the  spiritual  over  the  temporal 
affairs  of  mankind,  but  rather  to  elevate,  in  the  estimation 
of  men,  the  order  of  holiness  above  the  turbid  torrents  of 
political  turpitude.  As  the  mental  character  of  man  is 
superior  over  his  physical  nature,  so  is  pure  religion  above  the 
affairs  of  earthly  estate. 

But  the  elements  of  religion  and  the  elements  of  national 


56         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

policy,  comprise  distinct  natures  and  distinct  attributes.  The 
one  is  purely  spiritual ;  the  other  is  half  sordid,  and  every 
attempt  to  combine  the  two  elements  into  one,  is  certain  to 
lessen  the  spirituality  of  the  one,  without  increasing  that  of 
the  other.  Religion  is  reduced  by  this  process,  to  a  baser 
standard,  while  the  secular  character  remains  umimproved, 
and  both  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal  interests  of  mankind 
are  jeopardized.  The  first  effect  of  a  combination  of  the 
affairs  of  religion  with  the  affairs  of  State  policy,  is  to  restrain 
the  consciences  of  men,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  encourage, 
on  the  other,  a  spirit  of  temporal  aggrandizement  in  the 
Church  itself.  All  attempts  at  this  unnatural  and  irreligious 
fusion  have  tended  to  the  degredation  of  the  church,  at  the 
same  time  that  they  have  imposed  additional  and  unnecessary 
restraints  upon  the  people.  Against  these  restraints  the 
natural  instincts  of  man  have  rebelled ;  and  at  each  revul 
sion,  the  Church  has  fallen  in  its  dignity,  and  in  its  power 
over  the  humun  heart.  Religion  itself  has  been  the  sufferer 
from  first  to  last,  and  atheism,  deism,  and  infidelity,  of  every 
grade,  have  increased  at  a  proportionate  ratio. 

These  facts  present  a  living,  and  incontrovertible  argument 
in  favor  of  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  prohibiting  the  establishment  of  a  national 
religion,  and  compelling  the  complete  alienation  of  the 
Church  and  the  State.  By  this  wise  provision,  the  State 
stands  aloof  from  sectarian  controversy,  and  is  free  to  exercise 
its  temporal  functions  with  calm  and  impartial  deliberation  ; 
while  at  the  same  time  the  Church  and  the  individual  are 
left  to  the  untrammelled  exercise  of  religious  conscience. 


RELATIONS    OF    THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    STATE.  57 

Politics,  or  the  science  of  government,  is  a  progressive 
science.  Theology,  or  the  science  of  religion,  is  not  so.  From 
the  hour  that  first  echoed  the  voice  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  in 
the  synagogues  of  Galilee  to  the  present,  the  opinions  of  men 
on  the  subject  of  the  "  true  faith,"  have  been  as  various  as 
the  temperaments,  and  the  shades  of  temperaments,  in  the 
human  mind.  Schisms,  dogmas,  creeds,  and  sects  have  risen, 
both  before  and  since  the  establishment  of  the  papacy,  and 
each  as  indefinite  as  the  other,  each  as  unsatisfactory  in  solu 
tion  as  the  forms,  canons,  and  ceremonies  of  the  (so  called) 
mother  Church.  All  that  is  known  of  religion  in  its  intrinsic 
character,  is  written  and  revealed  in  the  great  Book  of  Life, 
and  the  most  erudite  commentators  have  failed  to  add  a  ray 
of  light  to  its  pages,  or  a  ray  of  intelligence  to  the  benighted 
mind.  Speculation  may  wander  through  the  interminable 
labyrinths  of  theology,  and  end  only  in  rendering  the  obscu 
rity  more  obscure — the  labyrinth  more  intricate.  The  sci 
ence  of  theology,  I  repeat,  with  all  its  humanizing  and  civil 
izing  influences,  with  all  its  religious  tendencies,  with  all  its 
benefits  to  society,  has  developed  no  definite,  or  satisfactory 
rule  of  faith  to  mankind,  beyond  the  revelations  found  in  Holy 
Writ,  and  the  human  mind  is  left  as  completely  the  prey  to 
speculative  reason  as  in  the  era  of  the  Gnostics  and  their  con 
temporaneous  heresies. 

With  all  our  scientific  research  in  matters  of  religion,  the 
demonologist,  he  who  believes  in  spiritual  appearances  as  an 
appendage  of  his  religous  faith,  still  claims  a  place  for  his 
dogma,  and  theology  with  all  her  erudition,  has  never  yet 
annulled  his  claim,  or  satisfactorily  refuted  his  theory.  How 

3* 


.r;S          A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

forcibly  is  this  truth  exemplified  in  the  tenacious  hold  which 
"  spiritualism,"  so  called,  has  recently  taken  iipon  the  minds 
of  many  of  our  most  learned,  and  conscientious  people  !  Alas, 
how  little  has  the  mere  science  of  religion  accomplished  when 
an  Edmonds,  or  a  Talmadge  can  be  alienated  in  a  moment, 
as  it  were,  from  the  religious  teachings  of  a  life-time,  and 
brought  to  believe  in  the  tangibility  of  spectral  illusions,  or 
the  manifestation  of  a  spiritual  presence  by  rappings  upon  a 
table  !  How  little  has  that  science  accomplished  towards 
the  establishment  of  an  universal  rule  of  faith,  when  thou 
sands  of  intelligent  men  and  women  can  be  led  by  the  mere 
arithmetic  of  a  visionary,  crack-brained  theorist,  to  dress 
themselves  in  "  ascension  robes,"  and  await,  in  religious  confi 
dence,  the  moment  when  they  shall  float  in  their  corporeal 
realities,  away  from  a  consuming  and  a  condemned  world,  into 
the  regions  of  eternal  glory!  How  little  has  theology 
accomplished  in  its  mission,  when  an  audacious  journey 
man  carpenter,  like  Matthias,  can  palm  himself  off  as  "  The 
Messiah,"  or  an  ignorant  and  besotted  imposter,  like  Joe 
Smith,  can  raise  up,  even  in  the  very  heart  of  Christendom,  a 
whole  nation  of  believers  in  his  absurd  and  impious  doctrines ! 
Herein  is  the  great  secret  of  sustenance  in  the  Romish 
Church,  and  the  influence  which  it  exercises  over  its  people. 
Superstition  is  inherent  in  the  human  breast,  and  that  super 
stition  is  the  basis  of  man's  religion,  if  not  the  religion  itself. 
Thus  it  is  that  theology,  in  its  mission  of  holiness,  fails  to 
accomplish  its  final  purpose ;  thus  it  is  that  a  mere  fallacy, 
when  adapted  to  the  superstitious  predilections  of  the  soul, 
and  adorned  with  mystery,  sweeps  away,  in  an  instant,  all  the 


BELATIONS    OF    THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    STATE.  59 

calmer  attributes  of  reason  and  true  religion,  and  leads  the 
heart  of  man  captive,  a  very  slave  to  the  dominion  of  fanati 
cism. 

That  theology  is  speculative,  is  proven  in  the  diversity  of 
dogmas  that  exist ;  most  of  them  claiming  to  be  emanations 
from  the  same  fountain  of  light,  the  Old  and  the  New  Testa 
ment,  and  yet  as  opposite  in  their  theories  as  the  equator 
from  the  poles.  Religion  itself  is  a  simple  principle,  and  its 
science,  theology,  deals  entirely  with  the  attributes  of  divinity, 
and  the  future  of  the  individual  man.  But  it  has  failed  to 
establish  a  fixed  and  perfect  plan  upon  which  the  simple 
principle  may  be  concentrated. 

Politics,  or  the  science  of  secular  government,  is  also 
founded  upon  a  simple  principle ;  but  instead  of  applying  to 
divinity  or  the  future,  it  applies  solely  to  the  present  interests 
of  man.  This  also  has  been  a  speculative  science,  but  it  is  so 
no  longer.  The  experiment  of  the  American  Republic  in  its 
intrinsic  character,  has  abolished  all  doubt,  and  settled  all 
speculation.  It  has  been  proven,  by  this  experiment,  that  the 
American  system  is  the  true,  and  the  only  true  system  of 
civil  government  on  earth,  and  the  solution  of  the  problem 
is  accepted  and  acknowledged  by  every  civilized  people  on 
the  face  of  the  globe.  The  fact  that  they  have  not  all 
adopted  it,  is  only  an  evidence  of  their  present  inability  to  do 
so.  The  theory  once  settled,  the  problem  once  solved  and 
admitted,  its  universal  adoption,  is  only  a  question  of  time  and 
opportunity. 

While  theology  has  been  searching  in  vain  for  a  universal 
rule  of  religious  faith,  the  fruits  of  progressive  improvement 


00  A   DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

in  the  science  "of  civil  government  have  been- revealed  on 
every  hand,  from  the  rude  days  of  Romulus,  with  his  augers, 
and  his  canine  foster-mother,  down  to  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Politics,  aided  by  Christi 
anity,  each  operating  in  its  respective  sphere,  and  each 
exerting  its  appropriate  influence  on  the  mental  and  moral 
faculties,  has  done  that  for  civilization,  which  religion  alone 
could  never  have  accomplished.  Religion,  in  its  primitive 
character,  is  found  wherever  man  makes  his  habitation.  It  is 
not  so  with  the  science  of  civil  government,  and  where  the 
latter  is  not  studied,  barbarism  still  holds  its  sway. 

There  are  instances,  as  with  the  Chinese,  for  example,  where 
the  science  of  civil  government  has  been  in  constant  warfare 
with  the  local  religion,  yet  in  despite  of  the  obstacles  thrown 
in  its  way  by  the  barbarous  tendencies  of  .the  latter,  the  land 
of  Confucius  has  maintained  its  onward  march  towards  civili 
zation.  What  can  be  more  degrading  and  stupefying  to  the 
intellect  of  man,  than  the  Pagan  idolatry  of  the  Chinese. 
In  religion,  they  have  not  advanced  a  single  step  beyond  the 
most  primitive  ideas,  and  with  all  their  boasted  antiquity,  they 
are  still  on  a  par  with  the  fetichi  of  Africa.  Yet,  from  the 
inherent  force  and  rigor  of  a  judicious  civil  government, 
China  surpasses,  in  many  of  the  arts  of  civilization,  all  other 
nations  of  the  earth'.  Literature  and  the  physical  sciences 
are  cultivated  and  enforced,  and  industry,  law,  and  order 
prevail  among  her  idolatrous  people.  Her  religion  alone  has 
been  the  great  barrier  to  her  progress.  With  the  light  of 
Christianity,  and  freedom  of  conscience  among  her  people, 
China  would,  at  almost  any  period  of  her  history,  have  stood 


RELATIONS    OF    THE    CHURCH   AND    THE    STATE.  61 

in  the  front  rank  of  civilized  nations,  and  wielded  an  influ 
ence  second  to  none. 

The  language  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
implies,  and  the  practical  experience  of  the  nation  proves, 
that  religion,  however  essential  as  a.  regulator  of  the  public 
morals,  is  not  a  necessary  adjunct  to  the  success  of  civil  gov 
ernment.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  seen  that  religion, 
intrinsically  understood,  may  retard  the  progress  of  knowl 
edge  and  civilization,  and  when  made  a  component  of  the  gov 
ernment,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Church,  it 
becomes  the  absolute  foe  of  civil  liberty.  Witness  Galileo 
in  his  cell,  and  the  hostility  of  religious  dogmas  to  the  dis 
coveries  of  Copernicus !  Wisely,  then,  I  repeat,  the  founders 
of  the  American  Republic  devoted  their  government  to  the 
secular  necesities  of  the  people,  leaving  to  the  Church  and  to 
individual  judgment  and  conscience  the  guardianship  of  the 
spiritual  interests.  This  is  one  of  the  prominent  peculiarities 
of  American  Republicanism,  as  it  is  undoubtedly  the  most 
conservative  element  of  the  popular  liberty. 

If  religion  was  to  form  a  feature  of  authority  in  the 
government,  we  should  have  innumerable  creeds,  sects,  and 
dogmas  contesting  for  the  prerogative,  and  the  intellect  of  the 
nation  would  be  occupied  in  disputes  over  the  pretensions  of 
the  various  cUimants,  each  of  which  would  assume  to  repre 
sent  the  "  true  faith."  There  would  be  the  Roman  Catho 
lic,  arguing  the  antiquity  of  his  church,  the  infallibility  of  the 
popes,  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  mass,  auricular  con 
fession,  purgatory,  winking  Madonnas,  and  the  miraculous 
conception;  the  Episcopalian,  with  his  three  orders  of  the 


62  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

ministry ;  the  Puseyite,  who  hangs  suspended  like  the  coffin 
of  Mohammed,  between  Episcopacy  and  Papacy ;  the  Presby 
terian,  with  his  republican  system,  and  no  bishop ;  the  Metho 
dist,  with  his  enthusiasm  in  the  cause  of  religion ;  the 
Baptist,  with  his  doctrine  of  immersion,  his  close  communion, 
and  his  improved  Bible ;  the  Mormon,  with  his  polygamy, 
and  his  golden  Bible ;  the  Universalist,  disputing  the  doctrine 
of  future  torment ;  the  Unitarian,  with  his  single  godhead  ; 
the  Calvinist,  the  Lutheran,  Old  lights  and  New  lights ;  the 
Jew,  and  even  the  Pagan,  whose  followers  are  now  peopling 
the  western  coast  of  the  Union,  from  the  "  Celestial  Empire," 
each  and  all  demanding  precedence — each  avowing  for  itself 
the  sanction  of  divine  approval,  and  each  alike  zealous  in 
preferring  his  claim  to  the  prerogative  of  controlling  the 
affairs  of  the  nation. 

Who  would  decide  a  question  so  intricate?  Since  the 
days  of  Roger  Williams,  we  have  recognized  the  principle 
that  man  is  accountable  only  to  God  and  his  conscience,  for 
his  religious  opinions,  so  that  if  he  act  up  to  his  conscience, 
we  have  no  right  to  question  the  correctness  of  his  faith. 
Congress  cannot  interfere  in  the  matter,  and  if  we  leave  it  to 
the  people  to  decide  by  their  votes,  the  platform  of  our 
friends,  the  Methodists,  would  undoubtedly  carry  a  plurality 
over  that  of  any  other  sect.  It  is  undeniable  that  the  Metho 
dists,  as  a  class,  are  as  intelligent,  liberal,  law-abiding, 'and 
patriotic  as  any  other  class  of  citizens,  yet  which  of  the 
remaining  churches  would  consent  to  become  the  subjects  of 
the  Wesleyan  system  ? 

Or  we  may  suppose  the  democratic  plan  to  be  adopted, 


RELATIONS    OF    THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    STATE.  63 

and  a  majority  of  votes  made  necessary  to  a  choice  of  the 
national  religion.  What  a  warring  of  sects  Ave  should  wit 
ness  !  What  mining  and  countermining  I  What  "  pipe- 
laying  !"  What  fusion  of  opposing  elements  !  What 
un-Christian  bitterness  and  rancor  —  tearing  and  perhaps 
swearing  among  the  professions ! — the  alb,  the  surplice,  and 
the  broadbrim  in  open  war !  The  hostility  of  political  parties 
would  sink  into  insignificance  in  comparison  with  this  battle 
of  the  creeds.  The  satellites  of  the  Pope,  instead  of  making 
instruments  of  our  political  demagogues  to  accomplish  their 
ends,  would  take  the  field  in  person,  and  fight  under  their 
own  flag,  and  your  Sewards  and  Weeds,  your  Greeleys  and 

A^an  Burens,  would  be  supplanted  and  overwhelmed  by  the 
dogmatic  armies  of  a  Hughes,  a  Beecher,  or  a  Tyng.  And 
these  men  would  show  no  quarter,  because,  from  the  nature 
of  the  elements  involved,  no  contests  are  so  vindictive  as 
those  founded  on  religious  sentiment — no  foe  so  unsparing 
as  the  sectarian  who  fights  for  his  faith. 

Thank  Heaven  no  such  contest  can  occur  in  our  land,  so 
long  as  our  institutions  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  are 
maintained  intact,  pure  and  uncontaminated,  as  they  came 
to  us  from  the  far-seeing  minds  of  the  fathers  of  the  Repub 
lic.  And  those  institutions  can  be  kept  inviolate  only  by  a 

•total  alienation  of  religion  from  politics — the  Church  from 
the  State. 


64  A   DEFENCE    OF    THE   -AMERICAN    POLICY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ROMISH  PRIKSTS  AND  AMERICAN  POLITICIANS— THE  CHURCH  POLITICAL. 

"  But  then  I  sigh,  and,  with  a  piece  of  scripture, 

Tell  them,  that  God  bids  us  do  good  for  evil. 
'     And  thus  I  clothe  my  naked  villany 

With  old  odd  ends,  stol'n  forth  of  holy  writ; 
A.nd  seem  a  saint,  when  most  I  play  the  devil." 

SHAKSPKARK. 

"  The  power  whkh  Christ  has  granted  to  the  Church,  is  twofold  ;  being  spiri 
tual  and  temporal." 

POPE  BONIFACE  VIII. 

IF  we  analyze  this  subject  closely,  we  may  discover  a  pecu 
liar  force  and  point  in  the  phraseology  of  the  Constitution, 
as  quoted  in  the  preceding  chapter.  It  will  be  perceived 
that  the  Constitution  forbids  Congress  to  pass  any  laws  for  the 
establishment  of  religion.  This  phrase  covers  the  ground 
intended  more  completely  than  if  it  had  used  the  words  a 
national  Church,  instead  of  the  simple  and  comprehensive 
word  religion,  Because,  whatever  may  be  the  association  of 
ideas  in  this  connection,  the  Church  is  one  thing,  and  religion 
another.  Religion  sometimes,  has  but  little  to  do  with  the 
Church,  and  it  frequently  occurs  that  the  Church  has  less  to 
do  with  religion.  I  mean  the  religion  of  Christ.  What  is  the 


THE    CHURCH    POLITICAL.  65 

f 

.Church  of  Rome,  for  example,  but  a  budget  of  mechanical 
and  ostentatious  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  a  promoter  of 
ignorance  and  low  superstition  ?  I  find  nothing  of  religion  in 
the  jugglery  that  first  stifles  intelligence,  and  then  compels  its 
illiterate  dupes  to  believe  that  the  figure  of  a  woman  painted 
on  canvas,  can,  and  does  exhibit  signs  of  physical  life,  as  the 
so-called  "  Winking  Virgin,"  or  that  a  dry  thorn  will  emit 
drops  of  blood,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  crucifixion.  These 
are  a  part  of  the  machinery  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  they  are  but  two  instances  in  a  catalogue  of  thousands 
of  like  absurdity.  And  what  are  they  but  villainous  inven 
tions,  by  which  a  few  men  hope  to  control  the  political 
interests,  and  temporal  destinies  of  the  whole  earth?  The 
intellect  of  man,  when  permitted  to  have  full  play,  revolts  at 
them,  spurns  them,  despises  them.  When  the  mind  is  suffi 
ciently  enlightened  to  see  through  their  web,  it  finds  in  them 
not  only  the  vilest  hypocrisy,  but  an  absolute  sacrilege,  and  an 
insult  to  the  natural  intelligence  of  the  human  race.  And 
this  is  the  Church  which  Mr.  Orestes  A  Brownson  tells  us,  is 
to  decide  whether  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  to 
be  obeyed  by  him,  or  not ;  whether  it  is  "  in  conformity  with 
the  laws  of  God  !" 

This  doctrine  may  have  answered  before  the  Reformation, 
and  it  may  answer  now  in  such  of  the  papal  States  as  have 
not  yet  opened  their  eyes,  or  even  in  Brazil,  Portugal,  Spain, 
Mexico,  or  South  America,  where  priestcraft  still  holds  sway 
over  reason,  but  it  will  not  answer  in  the  United  States  of 
North  America.  It  cannot  serve  their  purposes  here,  where 
free  schools,  schools  free  from  sectarianism  or  bigotry,  send  forth 


66  A    DEFENCE    OF   Till-:    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

their  streams  of  intelligence  through  millions  of  channels,  with 
out  money,  and  without  price.  This  Church  thrives  best,  too, 
with  men  of  inferior  minds.  The  bold  and  vigorous  intellect 
of  the  Anglo  Saxon  race,  though  it  has/  from  the  force  of  cir 
cumstances,  been  compelled,  at  times,  to  recognize  its  present 
supremacy,  has  never,  in  heart,  endorsed  its  pretensions,  or  its 
dogmas.  And  thus  it  has  been,  and  is  now,  with  the  more 
perfect  intellects  of  every  people,  who  have  received  its  hypo 
critical  trusts.  I  can  realize  no  spectacle  more  humiliating 
than  that  of  the  Anglo  Saxon  who  permits  himself  to 
become  its  dupe,  and  its  instrument. 

The  open  and  virulent  attacks  made  by  the  Romish  Church 
upon  our  free  school  system,  affords  a  living  evidence  of  the 
fact,  that  the  Church  fears  the  influence  of  education  among 
the  masses  of  the  people,  and  the  partial  success  which  has 
attended  those  attacks,  attests  the  venality  of  those  political 
leaders  who  have  yielded  to  its  pretensions  and  demands. 
Such  men  are  unworthy  to  hold  and  direct  the  destinies  of 
the  American  people.  They  are  like  the  general  who,  for  a 
temporary  policy,  would  yield  to  his  enemy  a  point  of  van 
tage,  which,  at  the  next  engagement,  would  command  tho 
field.  They  are  either  bad  managers  or  traitors,  but  in  either 
case,  unworthy  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  they  should 
be  so  regarded  and  so  treated.  The  popular  suffrage  should 
never  be  squandered  a  second  time  on  any  man,  who,  for  the 
purpose  of  his  party  or  his  person,  or  for  any  purpose  what 
ever,  has  encouraged  influences  hostile  to  our  institutions,  or 
detrimental  to  the  future  welfare  of  the  Republic.  Such  men 
as  William  II.  Seward,  who,  when  governor  of  the  State  of 


THE    CHURCH    POLITICAL.  67 

New  York,  attempted  to  prostitute  our  system  of  public  edu 
cation  to  the  behests  of  Bishop  Hughes  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  who  would  have  taken  away  the 
moneys  contributed  by  Protestants  for  literary  purposes 
solely,  and  given  those  moneys  for  the  support  of  schools  in 
which  anti-republican  and  sectarian  sentiments  were  to  be 
inculcated,  and  foreign  languages  spoken  and  taught.*  Such 
men  as  Thurlow  Weed,  who  aided  and  abetted  the  schemes 
of  Mr.  Seward ;  such  men  as  Horace  Greeley,  who  delights 
only  in  metaphysics  and  abstractions — a  man  of  theory  without 
judgment — a  child  of  impulse,  who  lives  in  dream-land,  and 
knows  no  realities,  no  people,  no  country.  Such  men  as 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who,  through  the  force  of  his  political 
position,  in  a  mistaken  effort  to  attain  popularity,  plunges  the 
nation  in  discord;  these,  and  many  others  that  could  be  enume 
rated,  are  alike  unworthy  the  confidence  and  support  of  a  free 
and  enlightened  people.-  Whatever  may  be  their  professions  or 
pretensions ;  whatever  their  political  creed,  whether  Demo 
crat,  Whig,  or  Native  American ;  whatever  their  school  of 
philosophy,  or  their  talents  and  powers  of  sophistical  reason 
ing,  never  trust  them  again.  Never  should  they  be  made 
the  keepers  of  either  our  conscience,  our  political  opinions,  or 

*  Governor  Seward,  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  dated  Janu 
ary  7, 1840,  made  the  following  recommendation  : 

"  I  do  not  hesitate,  therefore,  to  recommend  the  establishment  of  schools  in 
which  they  (the  children  of  foreigners)  may  "be  instructed  by  teachers  speaking 
the  same  language  with  themselves,  and  professing  the  same  faith." 

And  in  a  letter  to  Bishop  Hughes,  dated  at  Albany,  May  18th,  1S41,  he  adds  the 
following  declaration : 

"  I  reaffirm  all  I  have  before  promulgated  concerning  the  policy  of  this  country 
in  regard  to  foreigners,  and  the  education  of  their  children." 


08  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

our  national  destinies.      Let  them  be  repudiated  from  Maine  ' 
to  California,  via  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  and  back  again 
from  Oregon  through  Kansas  and  Minnesota  to  the  place  of 
beginning.  %* 

But  I  am  rambling.  As  one  of  the  people,  I  write  for  the 
people.  I  am  one  of  the  millions  who  have  too  long  allowed 
a  few  men  to  do  their  political  thinking  for  them.  I  have 
determined  to  think  for  myself,  read  for  myself,  and,  as  far  as 
I  can,  to  understand  for  myself,  free  from  the  dictation  of  any 
party  or  faction,  and  I  believe  it  would  be  better  for  civil  and 
religious  liberty  if  all  my  countrymen  would  "go  and  do 
likewise."  We  have  all  been  too  long  harnessed  in  the  party 
traces  of  a  few  designing  men,  and  we  have  allowed  them  to 
rule  over  us  until  our  union  and  our  free  institutions  have 
been  brought  to  the  very  verge  of  annihilation — another  step, 
and  we  plunge  into  the  abyss  of  anarchy  and  national  chaos ! 
Too  long  we  have  worshipped  "hickory  poles"  and  "hard 
cider  " — too  long  have  the  ambitious  leaders  of  party  thrown 
in  our  eyes  the  dust  of  "tariff"  and  "free  trade,"  "bank"  or  * 
"no  bapk,"  "slavery"  or  "anti-slavery,"  till  we  have  been 
blinded  to  the  trust  which  our  honest  old  grandfathers  left  to 
us,  and  our  dearest  interests  have  been  made  the  subjects  of 
bargain  and  sale.  The  patriarchs  of  the  nation  left  us  the 
inheritance  of  temporal  and  spiritual  freedom,  with  the  Holy 
Bible  and  the  Constitution  for  our  guides.  The  one  is  now 
sacrilegiously  desecrated,  and  the  other  is  trampled  under 
foot ;  the  Bible  is  thrown  from  our  schools  at  the  dictation  of 
Romish  priests,  and  the  Constitution  is  violated  and  ignored 
by  the  public  enactment  of  fanatical  legislation. 


THE    CHURCH    POLITICAL.  69 

One  of  the  surest  guarantees  of  permanent  nationality  is 
the  perfect  homogeneousness  of  the  people.  It  is,  therefore, 
an  important  duty  on  the  part  of  the  statesman,  to  encourage 
all  that  pertains  to  unity  of  character  and  custom,  and  to  dis 
countenance  every  influence  that  tends  to  produce  the  oppo 
site  result.  This  duty  is  the  more  imperative  in  the  United  ' 
States,  where  the  conflict  of  individual  character  and  custom 
is  kept  so  constantly  active  by  an  unceasing  and  multifarious 
emigration.  The  course  recommended  by  Governor  Sew- 
ard,  instead  of  lessening,  would  increase  this  heterogeneous 
element  by  encouraging  foreign  languages  and  customs 
among  the  emigrants.  Instead  of  forcing  them  into  our 
body  politic,  and  enforcing  a  unity  of  interest  and  feeling  by 
instruction  in  the  language  and  customs  of  America,  Mr. 
Seward  would  encourage  social  antagonisms  and  multiplied 
nationalities  within  the  American  circle.  A  stronger  evi 
dence  of  his  incapacity  as  a  statesman  could  not  exist. 
v  Again,  in  the  same  paragraph  of  his  message,  he  recom 
mends  that  in  schools  supported  at  the  public  expense,  the 
children  of  foreigners  should  be  taught  by  persons  of  the 
same  religious  faith.  This  would  be  neither  more  nor  less 
than  the  establishment  of  sectarian  schools  at  the  expense  of 
the  people.  In  this  Mr.  Seward  distinctly  violates  two  well 
understood  principles  of  the  American  Republican  system, 
thus  again  proving  his  urifitness  for  the  responsible  trusts 
reposed  in  him  by  his  party.  The  first  principle  violated  is, 
that  the  State  shall  not  interpose  in  matters  of  religion  among 
the  people,  or  give  encouragement  to  sectarians ;  and  the 
second  is,  that  no  one  religious  seel  shall  be  required  to  pay 


70  A    DEFENCE    OF    TITS    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

tribute  to  others — both  of  which  would  occur  if  Mr.  Seward's 
recommendation  was  carried  ii  to  effect. 

Mr.  Sevvard  passes  for  a  man  of  talent ;  he  is  regarded  by 
some  of  his  worshippers  as  an  American  Talleyrand.  Yet 
among  all  his  public  acts  it  is  difficult  to  find  one  that  bears 
the  mark  of  utility  either  to  the  nation  or  to  his  native  State, 
or  that  would  elevate  his  standard  of  statesmanship  above 
that,  of  a  scheming  partisan.  He  has  achieved,  in  his  public 
career,  a  notoriety,  but  no  fame,  and  the  future  will  look  back 
upon  his  history  only  as  upon  a  disagreeable  reminiscence. 
But  to  return  again. 

The  masses  of  those  who  are  "  born  Catholics,"  and  reared 
in  its  despotic  faith,  are  scrupulously  religious,  so  far  as  the 
teachings  of  their  Church  is  capable  of  imparting  religious 
sentiments — in  other  words,  they  are  what  is  generally  deno 
minated  "  good  Catholics."  They  sincerely  believe  in  tran- 
substantiation,  so  far  as  they  are  able  to  understand  it,  but 
generally  without  understanding  it  all.  They  sincerely^ 
believe  that  auricular  confession  is  necessary  for  salvation, 
and  that  their  priests  have  power  to  save  them  from  damna 
tion,  and  vice  versd.  They  sincerely  believe  that  all  who  are 
not  of  their  Church  are  heretics,  and  that  heresy  and  damna 
tion  are  identical;  hence,  when  opportunity  offers,  they 
believe  it  would  be  a  righteous  act,  and  doing  God  service,  to 
exterminate  the  disbelievers  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  They 
sincerely  believe  all  the  jugglery  of  pretended  miracles, 
palmed  upon  them  by  a  crafty  priesthood,  as  real  evidences 
of  the  divine  presence.  They  sincerely  believe  that  learning 
is  a  prerogative  of  the  clergy,  and  that  ignorant,  passive  sub- 


THE    CHURCH    'POLITICAL.  7l 

mission  to  clerical  commands  is  the  first  duty  of  the  laity. 
These  things  the  masses  believe,  because  they  are  trained  in 
fear  to  believe  nothing  to  the  contrary,  and  thus  far  they  are 
scrupulously  religious.  But  in  the  hierarchy  itself  we  find, 
at  the  best,  only  a  hybrid,  a  politico-religious  institution, 
with  a  large  preponderance  of  the  politica  element  in  its 
composition. 

At  this  day,  in  the  States  under  the  direct  control  of  the 
papacy,  it  is  a  capital  offence  against  the  State  to  read  the 
Scriptures,  or  discuss  the  topics  of  religion.  Either  of  these 
offences  are  characterized,  not  as  a  heresy  merely,  not  only 
as  an  offence  against  religion,  but  as  treason  to  the  govern 
ment,  a  violation  of  the  civil  law,  and  as  such  it  is  punished. 
Yet  this  Church,  relying  on  the  "  profligacy  of  our  politicians," 
has  freely  declared  its  intention  (being  an  alien),  to  substitute 
the  mitre  for  our  liberty  cap,  and  blend  the  crozier  with  the 
stripes  and  stars  !  "  The  jewels  of  Isabella  the  Catholic"afdd 
Bishop  Hughes,  "  would  be  an  appropriate  ornament  for  the 
sword  of  Washington  /" 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  recapitulate  the  his 
torical  proofs  of  the  political  character  of  the  Romish  Church, 
nor  to  review  in  detail  the  evidences  of  its  despotic  nature. 
They  are  to  be  found  in  a  thousand  authentic  works  already 
within  reach  of  every  reader.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to  know  : 

I.  That  the  Church  is  a  political  government,  claiming  tem 
poral  authority  over  every  nation  and  people  of  the  earth. 

II.  That  it  is  now  striving  directly,  to  establish  its  tempo 
ral  or  political  power  in  these  United  States,  and 


^2  •  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

III.  That  its  form  of  government  is  diametrically  opposed 
to  the  genius  of  American  Republicanism. 

In  proof  of  the  first,  very  brief  quotations  from  the  authori 
ties  of  the  Church  itself  will  suffice,  and,  doubtless,  be  more 
satisfactory  than  any  other  evidence  that  can  be  produced 
Settino-  aside  the  political  and  despotic  acts  of  the  Church, 
which,  of  themselves,  comprise  incontestible  proofs  of  its  politi 
cal  character,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  extracts  from  the 
decrees  of  her  councils,  and  the  declarations  of  her  writers. 
As  early  as  the  tenth  century,  during  the  reign  of  Pope  John 
XII.,  the  Council  of  Bishops  decreed  as  follows : 

"  Whoever  shall  venture  to  maintain  that  our  Lord  the  Pope  can 
not  decree  what  he  pleases,  let  him  be  accurst !" 

This  is  a  declaration  of  universal  authority  in  the  head  of 
the  Church.  It  has  no  limit.  It  comprehends  no  legal,  social, 
intellectual  or  moral  restraint.  It  makes  no  allowance  for 
human  frailty.  It  sweeps  away  all  the  forms  and  amenities 
of  social  life.  It  invades  all  the  elements  of  life.  It  strikes 
alike  at  the  individual,  the  community,  and  the  nation,  in  all 
their  relations,  moral  and  political,  and  converts  a  man  into  a 
god.  In  connection  with  this  decree,  we  have  the  declaration 
of  one  of  the  soundest  of  Romish  authors,  the  Cardinal  Zeba, 
who  informs  us  that ; 

«  The  Pope  can  do  all  things  which  he  wishes,  and  is  empowered 
by  God  to  do  many  things  which  he  (God)  himself  cannot  perform !" 

It  is  apparent  that  if  we  adopt  this  infatuated  view,  there  is 


POLITICAL    CLAIMS    OF    THE    CHURCH.  73 

little  necessity  of  a  god  in  controlling  the  affairs  of  earth. 
If  the  Pope  can  do  what  God  cannot  do,  the  supreme  charac 
ter  and  attributes  of  deity  are  no  better  than  a  fifth  wheel  to 
a  stage  coach.  Protestants  are  educated  to  the  belief  that 
God  is  supreme,  and  .that  no  mere  man  is  fit-  to  be  his  legate. 
When  he  found  it  necessary  to  send  a  representative  to  curb 
the  waywardness  of  erring  man,  and  point  out  the  way  to  sal 
vation,  he  sent  not  a  Pope,  but  his  only  begotten  son,  the 
Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,. whose  counsel  and  example 
have  been  so  sadly  forgotten  and  ignored  by  those  who  are 
impiously  styled  his  "vicegerents  on  earth,"  the  Popes  of 
Rome. 

Next  we  have  a  decree  issued  by  the  Council  of  Bishops, 
during  the  reign  of  Pope  Gregory  VII.,  as  early  as  the 
eleventh  century,  in  which  it  is  declared  that 

"The  Pope  alone  ought  to  wear  the  tokens  of  imperial  dignity; 
all  princes  ought  to  kiss  his  feet ;  he  has  power  to  depose  emperors 
and  kings,  and  is  to  be  judged  by  none." 

The  bloody  pages  of  history  attest  the  fact  that  he  not 
only  had  the  power  to  depose  emperors  and  kings,  but  that 
he  also  exercised  that  power.  Let  us  beware  that  he  does 
not  get  the  power  to  depose  presidents  as  well  as  emperors 
and  kings.  The  passage  here  quoted  relates  not  in  any 
shape  to  religion— it  claims  solely  temporal  qualifications- 
political  authority.  It  invests  him  with  earthly  gewgaws— 
the  "  tokens  of  imperial  dignity."  It  places  him  in  a  political 
aspect,  above  all  governments,  all  social  forms,  and  finally,  it 


T4         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

declares  that  he  is  to  be  judged  by  no  tribunal.  His  earthly 
character  and  person  are  alike  above  the  law,  and  exempt 
from  the  verdicts  of  human  opinion.  His  acts  are  made 
supreme,  and  his  commands  are  to  be  the  guides  for  all  men, 
all  communities,  all  governments.  American  Republicanism 
inculcates  the  opposite  notion.  It  is  opposed  to  the  one-man 

power. 

But  let  us  continue  our  quotations  a  little  further  on  this 
head.  Thomas  Aquinas,  another  of  the  oft-quoted  authori 
ties  of  this  Church,  tells  us  that  "The  Pope,  as  supreme  king 
of  the  world,  may  impose  taxes,  and  destroy  towns  and 
castles,"  &c.,  &c. 

Add  to  this  the  decree  of  the  celebrated  Council  of  Trent, 
and  we  have  sufficient  of  ancient  authority  to  establish  the 
political  character  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  In  that  council, 
whose  ordinances  have  ever  since  been  held  as  the  complete 
rule  of  Romish  faith,  it  was  decreed  that  "The  Pope  is 
prince  over  all  nations  and  kingdoms,  having  power  to  pluck 
up,  destroy,  scatter,  ruin,  plant  and  build !" 

After  these  authorities,  it  remains  only  to  show  that  the 
same  views  are  entertained  at  the  present  day.  And  to  do 
this  I  will  quote  a  single  paragraph  from  a  paper  called  the 
Freeman's  Journal,  the  avowed  organ  of  the  Church  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  edited  by  a  Mr.  McMasters,  a  native, 
of  New  York,  born  of  Protestant  parents,  but  converted  to 
the  Romish  theory  of  government.  In  one  of  his  numbers, 
published  in  1853,  he  says: 

"The  Pope  of  Rome  has  supreme  authority  over  every  diocese, 
and  over  every  square  foot  of  surface  on  this  globe.    His  rights  are 


KINGS    AND    EMPERORS    DEPOSED.  75 

circumscribed  only  by  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  the  consummation 
of  ages." 

This,  it  is  true,  is  a  mere  echo— a  parrot-like  reiteration  of 
the  sayings  and  doings  of  wiser  men;  but  inasmuch  as  its 
authenticity  is  not  denied  by  the  heads  of  the  Church,  we 
must  regard  it  as  official,  therefore,  as  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church  at  the  present  day. 

The  "  Church  "  claims  through  its  hierachy  to  be  infallible ; 
that  it  is  the  same  in  all  time ;  and  hence,  what  it  was  in  the 
eighth  century,  when  the  the  emperor  of  the  Greeks,  Philip- 
picus  Bardanes,  was  excommunicated  and  deposed  for  refusing 
to  sanction  the  worship  of  images,  it  is  now.  Pope  Pius  IX., 
the  present  pontiff,  reigning  in  the  19th  century,  claims  the 
same  attributes,  by  divine  right,  that  were  claimed  by,  and 
conceded  to,  the  first  Gregory,  and  by  every  intermediate 
occupant  of  the  papal  chair.  In  proof  of  this,  I  quote  a 
passage  from  the  coronation  address,  delivered  on  his  receiving 
the  triple  crown.  It  is  in  the  following  words  : 

"Keceive  the  tiara  of  three  crowns,  and  remember  that  thou 
art  the  father  of  princes,  and  guide  of  kings  upon  the  earth,  the 
Vicar  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  honor,  and  glory,  for 
ever  and  ever,  amen." 

Under  this  authority,  Henry  IV.,  Emperor  of  Germany, 
was  excommunicated,  persecuted,  and  finally  driven  from  his 
throne.  Leo,  the  Isandrian,  was  excommunicated,  his  empire 
dismembered,  and  his  Italian  subjects  absolved  of  their  alle 
giance,  and  the  same  treatment  was  suffered  by  his  son,  the 
Emperor  Constantine.  Leo  IV.  was  incapacitated  by  poison, 


76  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

and  his  edicts  against  image  worship  annulled.     Childric,  of 
France,  was  deposed  by  an  order  from  the  Pope,  and  Pepin, 
an  usurper,  placed  upon  his  throne.     Basilaus  II,  king  of 
Poland,  was  deposed  and  excommunicated.     Alphonso    X, 
king  of  Gallicia  and  Leon  was  excommunicated  and  anathe- 
mat&ized,  for  marrying  without  the  papal  consent.     John,  king 
of  England,  was  interdicted  by  Innocent  III,  for   refusing 
certain"  concessions  demanded  by  the  Pope.     All  places  of 
worship  in  his  kingdom  were  closed  for  three  years,  and  the 
dead  were  buried  in  the  highways  like  brutes.     Still  refusing 
concession,  he  was  excommunicated,  his  subjects  absolved  of 
their  allegiance,  and  he  deposed.     Philip,  duke  of  Suabia, 
was   excommunicated,  and  the  claims  of  Otho,  his  antago 
nist,  preferred  by  the  Pope.      Otho,  who   became  emperor  - 
of    Germany,    was    subsequently   himself    deposed    by   the 
same    hand,   and    Frederic    II,   his    pupil,   placed    on   his 
throne.     Frederic  II.  was  also  in  turn  persecuted,  and  finally 
driven  from  the  throne.     Philip,  king  of  France,  for  refusing 
to  recognize  the  assumed  temporal  power  of  the  Pope,  was 
excommunicated,  but  by  firmness  and  force  of  arms,  maintained 
his  throne.     Henry  III,  of  England,  was  excommunicated, 
and  an  edict  issued  by  the  Pope,  absolving  his  subjects,  and 
deposing  him  from  the  throne.     Elizabeth,  of  England,  was 
the  subject  of  the  papal  anathema,  on  account  of  her.  Pro 
testant  faith,  and  a  bull,  deposing  her  from  the  throne,  was 
issued  by  Pope  Pius  V.     Henry  III,  of  France,  was  assassi 
nated  by  order  of  the  Pope,  on  account  of  his  Protestant 
faith.     His  successor,  Henry  IV,  met  a  similar  fate  for  the 
like  reason.     Prior  to  the  accession  of  James  I.  of  England, 


THE    CHURCH    UNCHANGABLE.  7 

he  being  a  Protestant,  Pope  Clement  IX.  issued  a  bull  com 
manding  all  Romanists  in  the  kingdom  to  use  their  utmost  to 
keep  him  from  the  throne.  It  was  during  the  reign  of  this 
monarch  that  the  celebrated  "  gunpowder  plot "  was  detected. 
The  treaties  made  by  Charles  VI.,  emperor  .of  Germany,  with 
the  Protestant  princes  of  his  empire,  were  annulled  by  an 
edict  from  Pope  Clement  XL,  and  his  subjects  absolved  from 
obedience  of  them. 

These  are  some  of  the  prominent  acts  of  the  papacy  in  its 
exercise  of  the  temporal  or  political  power  by  divine  authority. 
It  will  be  seen  that  they  extend  over  a  period  of  a  thousand 
years,  and  they  have  beeii  withheld  during  the  present,  and  a 
portion  of  the  past  century,  only  in  consequence  of  the 
increased  power  of  Protestantism,  and  the  relative  decrease 
of  the  papal  power.  In  the  papal  States,  and  all  countries 
avowedly  Roman  Catholic,  the  same  authority  in  temporal 
affairs  is  held,  and  in  some  of  them,  still  conceded.  Even  in 
the  United  States,  a  nuncio  of  the  present  Pope  has  dared  to 
declare  invalid  a  sovereign  State  statute,  and  commanded  his 
people  to  disobey  that  statute !  I  allude  to  the. papal  edict 
against  the  trustees  of  the  "St.  Louis  congregation"  at 
Buffalo.  Not  long  since,  the  Congress  of  New  Granada,  in 
South  America,  were  anathematized  on  account  of  one  of 
their  political  acts,  and  at  this  moment  the  Spanish  Cortes 
and  sovereign  are  the  subjects  of  papal  denunciation,  in  con 
sequence  of  a  law,  recently  passed,  in  relation  to  the  tenure 
of  Church  property.  Thus  much,  I  have  deemed  it  necessary 
and  proper  to  mention  in  illustration  of  the  political  character 
of  the  papal  Church. 


78        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PAPAL  ASPIRATIONS  IN  THB    UNITED  STATES. 

"  You  shall  see  anon  ;  'tis  a  knavish  piece  of  work." 

SHAKSPEARB. 

"  While  you  here  do  snoring  lie 
Open  ey'd  conspiracy 

His  time  doth  take  ; 
If  of  life  you  keep  a  care, 
Shake  ofif  slumber,  and  beware  : 

Awake !    Awake  !" 

IBID. 

I  PASS  now  to  the  second  feature,  viz.,  that  the  Church  "  is 
striving,  directly,  to  establish  its  temporal  or  political  power 
in  these  United  States."  The  evidence  on  this  head  must,  of 
necessity,  be  mainly  presumptive,  or  circumstantial.  Jesuit 
ism,  the  principal  working  element  of  the  Church,  especially 
in  the  department  of -the  propagandi,  does  not  openly  declare* 
or  make  known  its  projects  and  purposes,  until  it  is  morally 
certain  that  all  the  rudiments  of  success  have  been  perfected, 
and  that  a  consummation  is  sure.  The  presumptive  evidence 
is,  however,  in  overt  acts,  which  amount  nearly  to  absolute 
proof,  and  in  the  occasional,  or  casual  expressions  of  their 
authorized  speakers  and  writers.  When  those  acts  ana 
expressions  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  bring  conviction  to  the 


INTENTION    OF    THE    PAPACY  79 

general  mind,  or  to  the  observant  spectator,  we  have  a  right 
to  presume  an  intent.  For  example :  when  a  bishop  of  the 
Church  declares,  that  it  is  the  intention  of  the  papacy  to  con 
vert  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  Senate,  and  House 
of  Representatives,  the  Judiciary,  the  Legislatures  of  the  seve 
ral  States,  the  officers  of  the  Army  and  the  Navy,  and  in  fact 
the  whole  people  of  the  United  States,  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  his  meaning  becomes  too  apparent  to  be  misunder 
stood.  It  is  the  same  as  if  he  should  say,  "  It  is  the  intention 
of  the  papacy  to  secure  the  government  of  this  country,"  or 
"It  is  the  intention  of  the  papacy  to  bring  this  country 
under  the  Roman  Catholic  dictation,"  because,  nobody  will  be 
foolish  enough  to  believe  that  when  Bishop  Hughes  made 
that  declaration,  he  intended  to  be"  understood  as  saying  that 
the  persons  named  would  become  converts  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith.  His  meaning  was  plainly  this :  It  is  the  inten 
tion,  and  the  expectation  of  the  papacy,  to  obtain  by  immigra 
tion  and  annexation,  and  by  its  influence  over  the  demagogues 
of  the  country,  sufficient  political  power  and  influence  to  con 
trol  its  laws,  and  shape  them  to  the  purposes  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  party;  thus  converting  it  into  a  papal  nation  and 
government. 

This  purpose  was  so  plain  thirty  years  ago,  that  it  did  not 
escape  the  gbservation  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  at  that 
time  Governor  of  the  Canadas,  and  the  duke  did  not  hesitate 
to  express  his  views  on  the  subject,  from  which  I  make  a 
single  brief  extract.  Speaking  of  the  probable  subversion  of 
the  institutions  of  the  United  States,  the  duke  used  the  fol 
lowing  language : 


80  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

"  The  Church  of  Rome  has  a  design  upon  that  country,  and  it  will 
in  time  be  the  established  religion,  and  will  aid  in  the  destruction  of 
that  Republic.  I  have  conversed  with  many  of  the  sovereigns  and 
princes  of  Europe,  particularly  with  George  III,  and  Louis  XVTEL, 
and  they  have  unanimously  expressed  these  opinions  relative  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States." 

The  course  of  Jesuitism  is  so  subtle  and  insidious  ;  it  per 
forms  its  work  by  such  slow,  and  almost  imperceptible 
degrees,  that  the  people  most  directly  interested,  the  Ameri 
cans,  are  the  last  to  take  the  alarm.  Each  change  that  is 
made  in  our  old  Protestant  system  and  customs,  towards  the 
papal  intention  is  so  slight  as  to  attract  no  particular  notice, 
the  more  especially  as  the  changes  are  made  ostensibly  under 
the  sanction  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  political  parties ;  and 
as  each  party  has  vied  with  its  opponent  in  efforts  to  secure 
the  Roman  Catholic  vote,  neither  has  ventured  to  expose  the 
encroachment  when  it  has  been  made  by  the  other  ;  hence  we 
have  not  realized  the  amount  of  progress  actually  made.  But 
if  we  look  back,  and  contemplate  the  aggregate  of  those 
changes,  and  draw  a  comparison  of  the  past  with  the  present, 
the  extent  of  Roman  Catholic  encroachments  become  paipa- 
ble  and  startling. 

When  the  Republic  was  established,  Romanism  could 
scarcely  be  said  to  have  had  an  existence  in  the  land.  Cer 
tainly,  it  had  no  influence — it  made  no  pretensions — it  was- 
modest,  humble,  solicitous.  As  a  religion,  it  took  its  place 
side  by  side  with  Protestent  creeds,  scarce  visible  in  the  pre 
ponderating  numbers  of  surrounding  churches.  A  Romish 
priest  could  not  be  recognized  by  his  attire  and  demeanor, 


GROWTH    OF    THE    PAPAL   POWER.  81 

from  his  Protestant  neighbor.  The  external  forms  and  cere 
monies  of  the  Church  were  humbly  kept  from  view,  and  the 
whole  demeanor  of  priest  and  laymen  was  that  of  unostenta 
tious  Christianity. 

But  what  a  change  has  taken  place  in  the  demeanor,  and  the 
numerical  power  of  that  Church,  since  the  foundation  of  the 
Republic  !*  Its  humility  has  been  changed  to  defiant  audacity ; 
a  bold,  commanding  ostentation  has  taken  the  place  of  its 
retiring  simplicity.  It  builds  its  nunneries,  its  Jesuit  colleges, 
its  churches,  in  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  land,  and  it 
•  consecrates  them  in  all  the  pomp  and  formulae  of  its  ancient 
pride,  surrounded  by  the  drawn  swords  and  bayonets  of  its 
martial  legions,  who  are  organized,  commissioned  and  armed 
as  a  part  of  the  militia  of  the  State.  It  baptizes  its  bells  amid 
superstitious  trappings  and  ceremonies  adapted  to  the  palmi 
est  days  of  its  benumbing  power.  It  holds  its  councils  of 
bishops  who  issue  their  edicts  in  conformity  with  the  despotic 
character  of  its  government.  It  sends  its  nuncio  to  decide 
a  controversy  between  a  bishop  and  his  congregation,  and  the 
nuncio  decides  against  the  people,  and  in  violation  of  the  law 
of  the  land,  and  the  principles  of  Republicanism.  It  tampers 
with  our  public  men  and  our  public  policy,  and  has  already, 
in  most  of  the  States,  erased  from  their  constitutions,  that 
conservative  feature  which  prevented  clerical  interference  in 
political  affairs.  It  has  perverted  legitimate  and  authentic 
history  whenever  that  history  portrayed  its  own  enormities. 
It  has  driven  the  Word  of  God  from  many  of  our  public  and 
district  schools.  It  has  obtained  the  control  of  our  post- 

*  See  Chapter  X.  of  this  work. 


82         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

office    department,    and    secured    the    chief-justice    of   the 

United  States.  It  lias  increased  numerically,  from  com 
paratively  nothing,  to  about  four  millions,  and  now,  self-confi 
dent,  it  claims  to  possess  a  controlling  political  influence  in 
the  affairs  of  the  country. 

These  are  the  presumptive  evidences  of  its  intention  to 
establish  its  political  power  in  the  United  States.  But  we 
have  more  than  presumptive  evidence.  We  have  the  proof 
positive  in  the  declaration  of  its  own  writers.  In  the  month 
of  July,  1852,  before  the  public  mind  had  been  awakened  to 
the  Romish  encroachments,  and  when  the  hierarchy  was 
flushed  with  success,  and  confident  of  accomplishing  a  full 
and  speedy  triumph,  the  Freeman's  Journal,  a  Eoman 
Catholic  publication,  to  which  I  have  before  alluded,  was 
permitted,  by  its'  censors,  to  utter  the  following  declaration : 

"  Our  country  has  started  forth  with  a  beautiful  fabric  of  institu 
tions,  and  political  framework.  We  have  lived  to  see  the  existence 
of  these  threatened,  and  to  hear  grave  men  predict  their  speedy  fall. 
"We  have  lived  to  see  desperate  corruption  in  our  leading  statesmen, 
and  heedless,  fickle  passion  swaying  the  crowds  that  give  statesmen 
their  popularity.  But  it  is  at  this  moment  that  the  Catholic  Church, 
not  only  in  the  view  of  the  prescient  and  philosophers,  but  to  the 
consciousness  of  all  who  have  eyes,  stands  forth,  as  we  have  said, 
the  only  living  organization,  which,  professing  to  guide  men  from 
a  principle  above  the  interests  of  the  hour,  holds  millions  of  souls  in 
her  grasp,  and  fearlessly  directs  them,  and  with  unerring  aim,  to 
the  course  that  high  duty  and  the  true  good  of  the  country  demands. 
****** 

"  The  great  conservative  and  living  principles  of  our  civil  and 
political  institutions  ARE  HENCEFORTH  TO  BE  IDENTIFIED  PECULIARLY 


THE    PEOPLE    AROUSED.  83 

WITH  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  AND  ITS  FRIENDS.  Every  year  that  rolls 
by  will  make  this  fact  more,  clear,  and  will  develop  its  consequences 
more  fully." 

In  this  we  find  more  than  a  declaration  of  the  intentions 
of  the  Church ;  it  is  the  self-confident  boast  of  an  adversary 
•who  imagines  that  he  has  at  length  inflicted  the  death-blow, 
from  the  effects  of  which  his  opponent  must  speedily  yield  up 
the  ghost.  He  believes  the  plans  of  the  Jesuits  have  been  so 
far  successful,  as  to  give  his  party  an  actual,  preponderating 
influence  from  which  it  is  impossible  for  the  country  to 
escape,  and  then  he  triumphantly  proclaims  that  henceforth 
the  civil  and  political  institutions  of  the  United  States  are  to 
be  controlled  by  the  policy  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church ! 

He  is  ready  to  exclaim,  in  the  words  of  Hotspur :  "  By  the 
Lord,  our  plot  is  a  good  plot  as  ever  was  laid ;  our  friends 
are  true  and  constant ;  a  good  plot,  good  friends,  and  full  of 
expectation." 

In  this  case,  Mr.  McMasters  "  whistled  before  he  was  out 
of  the  wood."  Romanism  is  not  yet  at  the  helm  of  American 
affairs.  At  the  time  when  he  wrote  the  paragraph  quoted 
above,  the  condition  of  our  public  affairs  certainly  seemed  to 
favor  his  opinion,  and  had  the  old  party  organizations  held 
their  respective  positions  and  influence,  it  is  difficult  to  con 
jecture  how  far  the  declaration  might  have  been  carried  out. 
But  it  was  ordained  otherwise.  At  the  very  moment  when 
this  boastful  shout  of  papal  triumph  was  uttered,  there  was  a 
patriotic  influence  at  work,  as  subtle  and  invisible  as  his  own 
nefarious  enginery.  It  knocked  at  the  hearts  of  the  people 
when  the  partisan  demagogues  were  asleep,  and  those  hearts 


84         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

were  opened  to  it.  It  spoke  to  them  in  the  language  of  home 
and  country,  and  they  listened.  It  pointed  out  the  encroach 
ments  of  the  papal  power,  the  corruptions  of  public  men,  the 
dangers  that  beset  their  free  institutions,  and  they  were  con 
vinced.  Their  eyes  were  opened.  It  called  on  them  in  the 
name  of  LIBERTY,  and  they  sprang  up  to  the  rescue.  They 
came  forth  like  an  army  with  banners ;  they  tore  the  faithless 
and  corrupt  political  parties  to  pieces,  and  scattered  the  frag 
ments  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven.  They  met  the  Jesuit  in 
his  subterranean  mine,  and  under  the  starry  folds  of  their 
country's  banner,  they  swore  to  be  no  longer  the  slave  of  the 
demagogue !  With  a  single  purpose,  and  with  hearts  sternly 
resolute,  they  gathered  around  the  altars  of  Liberty,  rekindled 
the  expiring  embers  of  patriotism,  and  with  one  voice,  re 
solved  that  the  insidious  power  of  the  Jesuit  should  be  no 
more  in  the  land  ;  that  the  stranger  within  their  gates  should 
not  become  their  master,  and  that  AMERICANS  ALONE  SHOULD 

BE    THE    RULERS    OF    AMERICA. 

But  I  have  yet  another  and  more  absolute  avowal  of  the 
views  of  the  Romish  Church,  in  regard  to  our  institutions, 
and  its  aspirations  in  this  country.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Brownson,  and  appears  in  his  Review.  I  am  fully  aware 
that  Mr.  Brownson,  owing  to  the  freedom  of  his  expressions, 
the  plain,  straight-forward  manner  in  which  he  lays  bare  the 
character  and  intentions  of  his  Church,  and  also  to  the  fact 
that  he  has  exhibited  an  extraordinary  versatility  of  political 
and  religious  talent,  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  of  little  or  no 
authority  on  these  subjects ;  and  many  reject  his  declarations 
in  toto,  as  the  offsprings  of  a  diseased  mind.  These  circum- 


85 


stances  would  have  as  great  weight  with  me  as  with  the 
most  skeptical  of  his  disclaimers,  and  I  should  be  as  ready  as 
any  to  denounce  him  as  a  fool,  a  fanatic,  or  a  madman,  were 
it  not  for  the  fact  that  among  those  who  characterize  his 
writings  as  the  ravings  of  a  lunatic,  we  do  not  find  one  of  the 
lights  of  the  Church,  and  the  further  and  more  important 
fact,  that  his  most  ultra  arid  "  insane "  sayings  are  in  strict 
conformity  with  the  ancient  canons,  and  the  invariable  prac 
tice  of  the  Church.  If  his  writings  were  not  orthodox,  the 
bishops,  in  whose  hands  are  entrusted  the  interest  and  cha 
racter  of  the  Church  itself,  would  undoubtedly  be,  as  they 
should,  the  first  to  rebuke  his  misstatements,  and  silence  his 
pen.  But  this  is  not  done.  On  the  contrary,  his  statements 
his  speculations,  his  arguments  in  favor  of  the  temporal 
authority  of  the  Church,  his  anti-republican  notions,  his  asse 
verations  that  it  is  the  intention  of  the  papacy  to  control  the 
destinies  of  this  country,  in  a  word,  his  whole  course,  is  offi 
cially  endorsed  by  the  whole  council  of  Jiomish  bishops  in 
America,  and  every  number  that  he  has  published  during  the 
past  six  years  has  borne  that  official  announcement  on  the 
cover,  over  the  signatures  of  the  following  prelates,  and  in  the 
following  words : 

"  BALTIMORE,  May  13, 1849. 
"  DEAR  SIR  : 

"  After  the  close  of  our  Council,  I  suggested  to  our  venerable 
Metropolitan  the  propriety  of  encouraging  you  by  our  approbation 
and  influence  to  continue  your  literary  labors  in  defence  of  the  faith 
of  which  you  have  proved  an  able  and  intrepid  advocate.  He 
received  the  suggestion  most  readily,  and  I  take  the  liberty  of  com 
municating  the  fact  to  you,  as  a  mark  of  my  sincere  esteem,  and  of 


86         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

the  deep  interest  I  feel  in  your  excellent  Review.    I  shall  beg  of  him 
and  of  the  other  prelates,  who  entertain  the  same  views,  to  subscribe 
their  names  in  confirmation  of  my  statement. 
"  Your  devoted  friend, 

"t  FRANCIS  PATRICK  KENRICK, 

"Bishop  of  Philadelphia. 
"  0.  A.  BRO.WNSON,  Esq." 

f  SAMUEL,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore, 
f  PETER  RICHARD,  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis, 
f  MICHAEL,  Bishop  of  Mobile, 
f  ANTHONY,  Bishop  of  New  Orleans, 
f  JOHN  JOSEPH,  Bishop  of  Natchez. 
f  JOHN,  Bishop  of  Buffalo, 
t  M.  O'CONNOR,  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh, 
f  MATHIAS.  Bishop  of  Dubuque. 
f  JOHN  M.  ODIN,  Bishop  of  Galveston. 

f  MARTIN  JOHN,  Bishop  of  Lingone  and  Coadjutor  of  Louisville. 
f  M.  D.  ST.  PALAIS,  Bishop  of  Viucennes. 
f  WILLIAM  TYLER,  Bishop  of  Hartford, 
f  J.  B.  FITZPATRICK,  Bishop  of  Boston, 
f  RICHARD  Pius,  Btehop  of  Nashville, 
f  JOHN  BAPTIST,  Bishop  of  Cincinnati, 
f  JOHN  HUGHES,  Bishop  of  New  York, 
f  RICHARD  VINCENT,  Bishop  of  Wheeling, 
f  JAMES  OLIVER,  Bishop  of  Chicago, 
f  JOHN  M.  HBNNI,  Bishop  of  Milwaukee, 
t  JOHN,  Bishop  of  Albany, 
f  AMEDEUS,  Bishop  of  Cleveland. 

f  PETER  PAUL,  Bishop  of  Zela,  Coadjutor  and  administrator  of 
Detroit. 

f  IGNATIUS  AL.  REYNOLDS,  Bishop  of  Charleston, 
f  ANDREW  BYRNE,  Bishop  of  Little  Rock. 

With  this  fact  staring  us  in  the  face  it  is  idle  to  talk  of 


MR.  BROWNSON'S  AUTHORITY.  87 

Mr.  Brownson's  vagaries,  or  to  deny  the  authenticity  of  his 
opinions.  .  He  has  the  avowed  sanction  of  the  whole  Church, 
in  the  course  he  is  pursuing.  He  is  their  oracle,  their  mouth 
pieces,  their  agent,  arid  so  long  as  they  acknowledge  him  as 
such,  we,  who  are  not  in  the  secrets  of  the  papal  star-cham 
ber,  assume  a  voluntary  responsibility  in  saying,  "Mr.  Brown- 
son  does  not  speak  the  views  and  sentiments  of  the  Roman 
Catholics."  To  do  so  is  to  act  with  an  absurd  criminality ; 
and  I  find  it  difficult  to  hold  patience  writh  Protestant  Ameri 
cans,  who  are  so  excessively  chivalric  and  courteous  as  to 
enter  the  lists  on  the  side  of  Romish  assumption,  and  volun 
teer  argument  to  disprove  for  the  Church  what  the  Church 
itself  has  never  denied.  To  say  the  least,  it  implies  a  vast 
stretch  of  confidence.  It  is  like  the  fly  who  argued  himself 
into  the  web  of  the  spider,  under  the  confident  belief  that  so 
modest  a  gentleman  could  not  mean  to  harm  him.  The 
difference,  if  any,  is  in  favor  of  the  good  sense  of  the  fly, 
because,  in  his  case,  the  spider  did  not  give  notice  of  an 
intention  to  suck  out  his  life's  blood,  whereas  the  voluntary 
Protestant  champions  of  Romanism,  are  plainly  and  unequi 
vocally  forewarned  of  its  intention.  If  the  fly  had  been  so 
informed,  he  would  have  had  too  much  good  sense  to  have 
gone  into  the  web. 

Under  these  circumstances,  we  have  no  right  to  question 
the  veracity  or  the  authenticity  of  Brownson's  statements. 
His  employers  are  the  best  and  only  qualified  judges  of  his 
workmanship,  and  so  long  as 'they  approve  and  endorse  him, 
we  do  but  put  a  bandage  over  our  own  eyes  if  we  deny  or 
attempt  to  palliate  his  positions.  Well,  this  man,  thus 


88         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

endorsed  by  the  leading  prelates  of  the  Romish  Church  in 
America,  used  the  following  language  as  long  ago  as  the 
year  1845,  which  being  prior  to  the  date  of  the  certificate 
above  quoted,  is  of  course  included  in  that  certificate  as 
being  a  part  of  his  "labors  in  defence  of  the  faith."  We 
find  it  in  the  April  number  of  the  year  1845,  in  the  following 
words : 

"  In  point  of  fact,  democracy  is  a  mischievous  dream,  wherever 
the  Catholic  Church  does  not  predominate,  to  inspire  the  people  with 
reverence,  and  to  teach  and  accustom  them  to  obedience  to  authority. 
The  first  lesson  for  all  to  learn,  the  last  that  should  be  forgotten,  is 
to  obey.  You  can  have  no  government  where  there  is  no  obedience  ; 
and  obedience  to  law,  as  it  is  called,  will  not  be  long  enforced  where 
the  FALLIBILITY  of  law  is  clearly  seen  and  freely  admitted.  But  is 
it  the  intention  of  the  Pope  to  possess  this  country  1  UNDOUBTEDLY. 
In  this  intention  is  he  aided  by  the  Jesuits,  and  all  the  Catholic 
prelates  and  priests  ?  UNDOUBTEDLY,  IF  THEY  ARE  FAITHFUL  TO  THEIR 

RELIGION." 

Here  we  have  the  naked  assurance  of  the  highest  autho 
rity  in  the  land ;  not  the  authority  of  Mr.  Orestes  A.  Brown- 
son,  merely,  but  of  the  twenty-Jive  Roman  Catholic  bishops, 
who,  at  their  council  at  Baltimore  in  1849,  endorsed  and 
ratified  the  declaration  over  their  hands  and  crosses.  Under 
their  sanction  we  have  assurance  of  the  undoubted  "  inten 
tion  of  the  Pope  to  possess  this  country,"  and  that  in  that 
intention  he  is  ."aided  by  the  Jesuits,  and  all  the  Catholic 
prelates  and  priests."  Talk  as  much  as  you  may  of  Mr. 
Brownson's  obliquity  of  principle,  or  mental  aberration,  it  is 
impossible  to  talk  this  fact  out  of  sight  or  existence.  For  a 


THE    PAPACY   SUPREME. 


Protestant  American  to  deny  it  is  folly— to  attempt  its  pallia 
tion  is  venal. 

In  justification  of  this  intent,  these  twenty-five  bishops 
assert  the  following  doctrine  in  the  same  number  and  the 
same  article  from  which  I  have  just  quoted. 

"  If  the  papacy  be  founded  in  divine  right  it  is  supreme  over  what 
ever  be  founded  in  human  right,  and  then  your  institutions  should  be 
made  to  harmonize  with  it,  and  not  it  with  your  institutions.  The 
real  question  then  is,  not  the  compatibility  or  incompatibility  of  the 
Catholic  Church  with  democratic  institutions,  but  is  the  Catholic 
Church  the  Church  of  God?" 

These  prelates  claim  that  our  Republican  institutions  should 
be  made  to  harmonize  with  the  papacy, without  regard  to  their 
incompatibility,  and  in  order  to  bring  about  that  celestial  har 
mony  on  earth,  it  is  necessary  that  the  papacy  should  tako 
charge  of  the  Republic !  The  logic  is  certainly  good,  and  the 
premises  are  clearly  set  forth,  and  as  I  have  no  means  of  know 
ing  that  they  do  not  mean  what  they  say,  I  do  not  feel  at 
liberty,  as  some  of  my  countrymen  have  done,  to  assert  that 
they  do  not  so  mean.  Our  wisest  course  is  to  believe  them 
sincere,  and  act  accordingly. 

It  is  a  circumstance  to  be  regretted  that  many  Americans, 
sensible  and  discreet  persons  too,  listen  to  these  statements 
with  an  ear  of  indifference,  or,  .perhaps,  of  actual  disbelief. 
They  cannot  realize  either  the  truth  of  the  statement,  or  the 
feasibility  of  the  popish  plan,  if  contemplated ;  and  they  turn 
aside  with  a  shrug  of  cold  incredulity,  or,  with  a  self-satisfied 
air,  express  the  philosophical  opinion,  "  There  is  no  danger." 


90         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

These  men  revd  history  to  little  purpose,  and  are  generally 
poor  judges  of  weak  human  nature.  They  would  make  most 
excellent  subjects  for  that  adroit  genius  known  as  "  the  Confi 
dence  man."  Guileless  and  simple  themselves,  they  judge  all 
men  by  their  own  standard.  Reared  and  educated  under 
influences  remote  from  papal  despotism,  and  never  having  felt 
its  tortures,  they  are  willing  to  believe  the  massacre  of  St.  Bar 
tholomew  a  romance,  and  the  skinning  of  Ugo  Bassi  a  myth, 
though  the  one  occurred  during  the  16th  century  and  the 
other  during  the  19th. 

If  the  warnings  daily  given,  of  the  antagonistic  nature  and 
purposes  of  the  Romish  corporation  towards  the  institutions 
of  American  Republicanism,  were  the  inventions  of  those  who 
utter  them,  there  would  appear  to  be  more  sensible  ground 
for  this  marked  indifference  and  disbelief.  We  might,  in  that 
case,  set  them  down  as  the  coinage  of  a  distempered  brain,  or 
the  fancies  of  a  fanatical  bigot.  But  this  opportunity  is  not 
afforded.  The  Church  itself  is  our  authority,  and  it  cannot, 
if  it  would,  deny  the  accusation.  Protestant  Americans,  there, 
fore,  who  volunteer  to  become  her  champions,  or  who  sneer 
at  the  more  watchful  zeal  of  their  own  countrymen,  are  the 
dupes,  not  of  the  Romish  Church,  but  of  their  own  simplicity. 
The  Church  is  honest  enough  to  have  declared  her  own  des 
potic  character  through  all  time.  She  has  as  frankly  declared 
her  intention  to  subvert,  and  crush  the  institutions  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty ;  the  first  of  which  she  declares  to  be  a  horri 
ble,  and  fatal  license,  and  the  last  a  damnable  heresy  !  Now, 
as  civil  and  religious  liberty  are  the  great  components  of  our 
system  of  government,  it  follows  (even  without  the  recent 


WHAT   IS   CONSCIENCE  ?  91 

avowals  of  her  cquncil  of  bishops),  that  the  Church  of  Rome 
is  the  natural  foe  of  our  system,  and  that  the  two  cannot 
exist  where  her  power  predominates.  It  requires  no  great 
logic  to  arrive  at  this  conclusion. 

Another  class  of  insipid  philanthropists  suggest  meekly 
that  "it  will  not  do  to  interfere  with  the  religious  opin 
ions  of  men.  Liberty  of  conscience  is  a  sacred  right,  and 
must  not  be  infringed,"  &c.  Very  true,  but  when  religion 
and  conscience  are  made  the  mere  subterfuge  of  despotism 
are  we  still  bound  to  give  them  license  ?  Conscience,  in-  its 
simple  character,  is  an  innate  sentiment,  but  the  direction  of 
conscience  is  entirely  the  result  of  training  or  education. 
The  conscience  of  a  child  is  an  unwritten  tablet,  and  the 
impressions  which  it  is  to  convey  through  life  are  placed 
there  by  the  hand  of  the  moral  or  religious  tutor.  The 
Quaker  teaches  his  child  the  theory  that  it  is  sinful  to  take 
the  life  of  a  fellow  being  under  any  circumstances,  and  he 
grows  up  under  a  concientious  belief  in  that  precept ;  he 
refuses  to  bear  arms,  on  behalf  of  his  country,  against  an  inva 
ding  foe,  or  to  strike  a  blow  in  defence  of  his  own  life  when 
assailed.  On  the  other  hand,  his  next  door  neighbor  teaches 
his  child  that  it  is  not  only  his  right,  but  his  duty,  to  slay  his 
fellow  man  either  in  defence  of  his  country,  the  public  peace 
or  his  own  person  ;  and  that  child  grows  up  with  a  conscien 
tious  belief  in  all  that  has  been  taught,  and  he  does  not  hesi 
tate  to  make  it  a  governing  principle  in  his  intercourse  with 
mankind. 

Now  let  us  suppose  that  the  consciences  of  a  few  millions 
of  men  and  women  within  the  United  States  are  trained  from 


92        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

childhood  to  believe  that  it  is  their  religious  duty  to  extermi 
nate  heresy  and  heretics,  and  to  overturn  governments  hostile 
to  their  conscience  whenever  the  opportunity  is  presented, 
are  we  required  to  tolerate  that  conscience  ?  Is  it  our  duty 
to  nourish  and  tolerate  the  elements  of  treason  and  assassina 
tion  because  the  traitor  and  the  assassin  are  sheltered  under 
the  aegis  of  a  religious  conscience?  The  poor,  starving 
wretch,  pressed  with  a  sense  of  self-preservation,  con 
scientiously  takes  from  the  baker  a  loaf  of  bread,  to  keep 
body  and  soul  together ;  yet  we  do  not  hesitate  to  send  the 
poor  creature  to  jail  for  the  offence.  His  conscience  will 
not  avail  in  the  presence  of  austere  Justice. 

But  in  the  case  of  the  Romanist,  we  do  not  attack  his  con 
science,  or  his  religion.  He  has  avowed  himself  the  political 
foe  of  our  free  institutions,  and  he  has  assailed  those  institu 
tions.  We  but  defend  them  against  his  assaults.  So  long 
as  he  is  content  to  worship  God  after  the  fashion  of  his  own 
mystical  religion,  I  will  be  the  champion  of  his  right  to  do 
so  without  hindrance  or  interruption.  Let  him  but  keep  his 
religious  conscience  out  of  the  American  ballot-box,  and  he 
will  find  no  foe  on  the  American  soil.  He  will  not  need,  then, 
to  make  his  appeals  to  the  overshadowing  protection  of  the 
Constitution.  The  public  sentiment  will  be  his  shield  and  his 
buckler. 

But  there  is  yet  a  third  class  of  American  citizens,  who 
affect  to  despise  our  admonitions  against  papal  aggression. 
They  are  the  wire-pulling  politicians,  the  demagogues  of  the 
land;  they  want  voters,  and  they  avail  themselves  of  the 
amiable  unsusceptibility  of  the  two  classes  just  described,  to 


AMERICAN    DETRACTORS.  93 

keep  their  parties  together.  Men  who  never  had  any 
definite  religion,  cry  the  loudest  for  religious  tolerance  and 
the  rights  of  conscience,  but  especially  the  Roman  Catholic 
conscience.  In  their  vocabulary,  the  Eomanist  is  a  persecuted 
saint,  and  the  American  Protestant,  an  intolerant  bigot.  But 
it  is  a  trade  with  them.  They  have  offices  and  honors  at 
stake.  Most  of  them  know  better,  .but  so  long  as  they  can 
win  at  the  election,  they  care  little  for  the  future  of  their 
country. 


04        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

AMERICAN  REPUBLICANISM  AND  ROMANISM— THE  CONTRAST. 

"  They  are  natural  foes  ;  they  will  not  lie 
In  the  same  burrow.     Their  hostility 
Is  in  the  bones — in  the  very  marrow — 
Do  what  you  will,  they  will  not  live  on  terms." 

ANON. 

HERE  are  two  isms  that  deserve  the  consideration  of  all 
men  of  all  parties,  but  they  are  not  the  isms  of  the  day,  nor 
of  a  day — they  are  for  all  time.  They  are  vital  principles, 
venerable,  pervading ;  and  they  will,  doubtless,  live  and  be 
discussed  when  Mr.  Greeley's  ephemera  of  isms  will  have 
gone  the  way  of  all  fallacies,  and  been  forgotten.  What  a 
pity  it  is  that  so  fine  a  genius  as  that  of  Mr.  Greeley,  should 
have  lost  its  balance,  and  been  whelmed  in  the  maelstrom  of 
misty  theories !  I  knew  him  when  he  was  the  oracle  of  a 
great  and  powerful  national  party — a  man  of  clear  judgment, 
and  one  of  the  best  political  statisticians  (except  the  late  Edwin 
Williams)  in  the  United  States.  As  an  editor,  he  was  per 
severing,  zealous,  and  reliable ;  as  an  opponent,  frank  and 
honorable ;  and  as  a  man,  though  never  social,  always  civil 
and  ingenuous.  His  paper  was  dignified,  high-minded,  and 
courteous,  free  from  all  vulgarity,  slang,  and  low  epithets.  It 


REPUBLICANISM    AND    ROMANISM.  95 

was  read  far  and  wide,  and  commanded  the  respect  of  friends 
and  foes,  as  much  for  its  honest  drift  and  manly  force,  as  for 
its  superior  claims  as  a  newspaper.  That  such  a  man  should 
prostitute  his  talents,  his  genius,  and  respectability  to  low 
uses,  is  deplorable.  But  with  Fourierism  began  the  halluci 
nation  which  has  resulted  in  converting  both  the  man  and 
the  paper  into  the  antipodes  of  their  former  selves. 

But  we  set  out  to  show  that  Romanism  is  diametrically 
opposed  to  Republicanism,  this  being  the  third  feature  of  this 
subject  which  I  deem  it  necessary  to  review.  It  would  seem 
almost  unnecessary  to  add  a  word  to  what  has  been  already 
written,  in  order  to  show  that  the  Romish  Church,  in  its 
whole  character  and  spirit,  is  hostile  to  the  character  and 
spirit  of  'our  free  institutions.  The  simple  fact  that  one  is  an 
absolute  government,  and  the  other  a  popular  government, 
establishes  the  antipodal.  These  are  the  extremes  of  social 
organism,  and  when  extremes  meet,  decomposition  of  one  or 
the  other  must  ensue,  unless  the  repulsive  power  is  sufficient 
in  the  one  or  the  other  to  prevent  an  actual  contact. 

American  Republicanism  cultivates  intelligence  among  the 
people.  Romanism  suppresses  intelligence. 

American  Republicanism  recognizes  and  secures'  to  all 
men  the  right  of  trial  by  jury.  Romanism  adjudicates  in  the 
sombre  dungeon  of  the  inquisition,  or  through  the  will  of  a 
single  prelate,  who  may  be  at  once  the  accuser,  the  judge, 
and  the  executioner. 

American  Republicanism  ensures  the  freedom  of  the  press, 
and  the  right  of  free  speech.  Romanism  silences,  or  else 
muzzles  the  press  and  forbids  discussion ;  it  puts  a  bridle  on 


96  A   DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

the  lips  ot  its  subjects,  as  we  do  on  the  lips  of  our  state- 
prison  convicts. 

American  Republicanism  secures  to  its  citizens  the  right 
of  suffrage  in  the  choice  of  their  rulers,  with  the  power  to 
impeach  and  remove.  Romanism  chooses  its  executive  offi 
cer  or  sovereign,  by  a  vote  of  the  college  of  cardinals ;  that 
sovereign  holds  his  authority,  which  is  absolute,  for  life,  and 
the  cardinals  are  appointed  by  him.  The  people  have  no 
voice. 

American  Republicanism  secures  the  full  liberty  of  con 
science  to  all  its  people,  and  to  the  stranger  within  its  gates. 
Romanism  pronounces  liberty  of  conscience  to  be  a  wicked 
heresy. 

American  Republicanism  permits  every  human  creature  to 
read  and  study  the  Word  of  God.  Romanism  forbids  it.  In 
a  word,  American  Republicanism  is  FREEDOM  ;  Romanism  is 
slavery. 

In  a  late  encyclical  letter,  issued  by  the  present  sovereign 
of  Rome,  he  announces  his  views  of  the  liberty  of  conscience, 
in  the  following  unequivocal  terms  : 

"  Liberty  of  conscience,"  he  says,  "  is  an  absurd  and  dangerous 
maxim,  or  rather  the  ravings  of  delirium.' 

It  would,  indeed,  be  a  dangerous  maxim  in  one  who  hopes 
to  rule  as  a  despot ;  but  in  our  Republic  it  is  regarded  as 
essential  to  the  welfare  of  religion,  and  as  one  of  the  inalien 
able  rights  of  man.  Where  the  rights  of  conscience  are  thus 
fettered,  or  rather  crushed  out,  the  men  who  apply  the  tor 
ture  may  well  fortify  their  act  by  other  despotic  measures— 


ROMANISM    OPPOSED    TO    INTELLIGENCE.  97 

the  suppression  of  the  right  of  speech  arid  discussion,  or  the 
spread  of  intelligence  through  the  channel  of  an  unfettered 
press.  The  opinion  of  the  present  Pope  on  the  subject  of  a 
free  press  is  given  in  the  following  words,  which  I  quote  from 
the  same  encyclical  letter : 

"  The  liberty  of  the  press  is  that  fatal  license  of  which  we  cannot 
entertain  too  great  a  horror." 

In  this,  "His  Holiness"  coincides  precisely  with  all  despots, 
past  and  present.     It  is  not  a  new  feature,  nor  one  peculiar 
to  his  office,  yet  if  he  rules  in  America,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
the  lightning  presses,  would  "click  "  no  more,  and  the  people 
would  have  more  time  to  labor  for  lack  of  anything  to  read. 
Moreover,  as  the  privilege  of  discussion  would  be  at  an  end, 
nobody  would  lose  time  in  complaining.     The  Bible  societies, 
especially,  would  be  permitted  to  cease  their  labors,  and  wind 
up  their  concerns.     There  would  be  no  room  for  their  wares 
under  a  papal  "father."     It  is  contrary  to  the  Romish  "con 
science"  to  allow  people  to  read  Bibles,  and  many  a  poor 
fellow  has  suffered  for  daring,  even  in  secret,  to  violate  the 
state  law,  which  forbade  his  reading  that  Holy  Book.     The 
persecution  of  the  Madia  family,  is  fresh  in  the  minds  of  my 
readers,  as  well  as  the  still  later  case  of  the  poor  shoemaker, 
Cechetti,  who  was  sentenced  to  a  year's  imprisonment,  by  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  for  reading  the  Bible  to  his  own 
family. 

This  reminds  me  that  I  saw,  a  few  days  since,  an  account 
of  the  release  of  Cechetti,  from  piison,  on  condition  that  he 

5 


98         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

would  submit  to  perpetual  banishment  from  his  native  land. 
Well,  let  the  poor  Italian  shoemaker  come  to  the  United 
States.  He  may  follow  his  honest  calling  without  interrup 
tion;  read  the  Bible  to  his  heart's  content,  and  say  what  he 
likes  of  the  Grand  Duke,  without  fear  of  arrest  or  imprison 
ment. 

We  could  very  well  afford  to  set  aside  the  secular  and 
political  features  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  still  it  would 
remain,  in  its  religious  character  alone,  the  antagonist  of 
American  Republicanism.  Throughout  its  whole  construc 
tion,  there  is  not  a  single  element  in  sympathy  with  our  free, 
energetic,  and  soul-inspiring  institutions.  The  hierarchy  in 
the  United  States,  professes  attachment  to  the  government, 
and  her  children  from  the  Emerald  Isle  (made  desolate  and 
repulsive  through  priestcraft),  avail  themselves  of  the  liberty 
we  give  to  them,  and  weave  the  harp  of  oppressed,  down 
trodden  Erin, 'in  the  folds  of  the  unsullied  ensign  of  American 
Liberty.  What  a  mockery  of  their  own  vassalage !  What 
a  contrast!  The  relic  of  national  degradation  blended  with 
the  emblem  of  nafional  glory  and  might ! 

But  the  hierarchy  admires  our  institutions  only  for  the 
facilities  which  they  afford  for  the  propagation  of  its  power 
in  the  land.  It  will  rear  the  stripes  and  stars  on  the  topmost 
spire  of  its  houses  of  worship  during  the  ceremony  of  conse 
cration.  It  will  wave  them  over  the  heads  of  its  listless  vota 
ries,  and  command  them  to  fight  under  them  and  for  them. 
It  will  struggle  to  maintain  the  name  and  the  insignia  of  the 
Republic,  but  the  institutions  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
cannot  exist  where  the  hierarchy  presides.  It  matters  little 


HEREDITARY    ALLEGIANCE    TO    'THE    CHURCH.  99 

to  the  papacy,  what  form  of  government  ostensibly  prevails, 
or  what  colors  are  on  the  national  bunting.  The  Austrian 
eagle,  or  the  stars  and  stripes  are  the  same  to  it,  and  the 
latter,  even  though  shorn  of  its  prestige,  and  its  genius,  and 
compelled  to  blazon  to  the  world  its  own  infamy,  would  float 
as  gracefully  from  the  turrets  of  a  papal  palace  as  over  the 
capitol  of  a  free  people. 

\JAkQ  all  other  monarchical  and  despotical  governments,  the 
papacy  demands  a  hereditary  allegiance,  j  The  child  born  of 
papal  parents  is  a  papal  subject  at  its  birth,  in  whatever  clime 
or  country  it  is  born.     This  is  in  accordance  with  the  claim 
set  up,  that  « the  Pope  is  prince  of  all  nations."     It  partakes 
in  nothing  of  a  religious  character,  but  is  a  part  of  that  system 
of  regal  authority,  employed  by  monarchists,  which  stands,  in 
its  very  nature,  opposed  to  republicanism.     Nothing  can  be 
more  incompatible  than  the  two  systems  are  in  this  respect. 
In  the  one,  the  individual  is  held  to  be  a  free  agent,  social  j\ 
and  religious;  in  the  other,  the  individual  possesses  not  free 
dom  either  of  conscience  or  allegiance,  and  when,  after  the 
the    conviction    which   age  and    reason    afford,   he   revolts 
against  the  unnatural  authority,  he  is  proscribed. as  an  apos 
tate,  a  renegade  and  a  heretic.' 

But  there  is  another  peculiarity  of  contrast  between  the 
two  forms  of  government,  which  stands  forth  a  tangible  and 
visible  embodiment,  a  living  evidence  of  the  incompatibility  of 
the  two  systems,  one  with  the  other. 

American  Republicanism  is  the  parent  of  progress;  it 
encourages  the  development  of  human  energy,  and  gives  free 
play  to  the  faculties.  It  expands  the  intellect,  invigorates  the 


100  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

soul,  and  elevates  the  standard  of  the  individual  man.     It 
builds  locomotives,  erects  manufactories,  disembowels  the  earth, 
causing  her  to  yield  up  her  treasures  to  the  uses  of  man.      It 
encourages  commerce,  and  sends  its  smoking  steamships  to 
the  far  ends  of  the  earth.     It  strikes  out  into  the  wilderness, 
talks  with  the  savage  without  enslaving  his  soul,  and  develops 
•  the  resources  of  the  earth.     Romanism  gives  to  the  red  man 
|a  cross  and  a  rosary  ;  American  Republicanism  places  in  his 
iiands  a  Bible  and  a  hoe.     It  builds  a  school-house  for  his 
children,  and  teaches  him  that  sowing  and  reaping  are  more 
manly  and  more  profitable  than  hunting  and  fishing.     Ameri 
can  Republicanism  cultivates  the  sciences,  arts  and  literature, 
as  well  as  the  soil,  and  puts  in  every  bosom  the  heart  and 
impulses  of  a  man.     It  is  honest,  ingenuous,  and  courageous. 
It  pays  its  debts,  speaks  its  mind,  keeps  a  clear  conscience, 
and  looks  the  world  in  the  face  without  quailing  or  winking.  ' 
How  is  it  with  Romanism  ? 

Romanism  is  the  open  foe  of  progress  *  It  stifles  the  ener 
gies  of  its  subjects,  stultifies  the  intellect,  and  wraps  the  soul 
in  a  mantle  of  superstitions,  prostrating  all  self-respect  in  the 
individual.  It  makes  no  advances  towards  civilization,  and  if 
it  encourages  art,  it  is  only  for  the  purpose  of  multiplying  its 
own  weapons  against  human  freedom.  It  gives  no  incentive 
to  industry,  and  by  claiming  to  itself  supreme  sovereignty, 
neutralizes  every  sentiment  of  patriotism  and  nationality— it 

*  An  officer  of  the  American  army  in  Mexico,  noticing  that  the  farmers  of  the 
country  used  that  most  primitive  instrument,  a  knotted  stick,  instead  of  a  plough, 
for  turning  up  the  earth,  inquired  the  reason  for  doing  so.  He  was  informed  that 
the  priests  forbad*  the  use  of  the  plough,  and  compelled  the  people  to  use  the  rude 
implement  which  he  saw. 


ROMANISM    OPPOSED    TO    PROGRESS.  101 

is  cosmopolitan.     Romanism   denies  tire  jp$o4s$it,y.>uof  liter?),- ,J 
ture  beyond  what  is  required  as   an  instrument  Jot  control" 
over  the  souls  and  bodies  of  mankind.  .  Tjfc/is  sselfjsb,  disho^es'V  '. 
double-dealing,  and  cowardly.      Instead  of  openly  combating 
the  opinions  and  intelligence  of  the  human  race,  and  striving 
manfully,  and  by  frank,  overt  means,  to  convert  men  to  its 
own  dogmas,  it  moves  mysteriously,  skulkingly,  in  dark  cor 
ners,  and  by  covert  and  insidious  courses,  and  false  pretences, 
Jesuiti cally  seeks  to  entrap  rather  than  to  convert  or  con 
vince. 

Where  Romanism  prevails,  there  is  stagnation  and  public 
lethargy.  Where  American  Republicanism  prevails,  there  is 
industry,  intelligence,  energy,  and  public  prosperity.  This 
assertion  is  too  broad  to  be  made  without  accompanying 
proofs,  and  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  responsibility  under 
which  it  is  made.  The  evidences  in  its  support  are,  however, 
so  palpable,  so  plainly  written  on  the  moral  and  political 
aspect  of  the  present  moment,  that  there  is  no  room  for  hesi 
tation,  and  no  need  of  elaborate  argument.  Look  where  we 
may,  we  find  those  evidences  written  in  characters  of  living 
light.  Whether  it  be  in  the  immediate  dominion  of  the 
Pope  himself,  the  papal  States  of  Italy,  or  in  the  despotic 
sovereignty  of  Austria ;  whether  we  look  upon  Spain  in  her 
emasculation,  Portugal  in  her  imbecility,  or  upon  the  repub 
lics  of  South  America,  the  picture  is  the  same ;  stagnation 
and  superstition  go  hand  in  hand — ignorance  and  anarchy 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Jesuit  and  the  priesthood.  I 
need  not  point  to  the  United  States — she  speaks  for  herself. 
Let  her  proud  name  and  resources,  contrasted  with  those 


102        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

under  the  papal" -rule;  stand  as  my  argument,  as  a  living  and 
incontestible  proof  that  Romanism  is  incompatible  with 
ArneVieAn  Be'publi'canism  and  liberty. 

The  Romish  Church  in  the  United  States  is,  even  now,  viola- 
ing  one  of  the  elementary  principles  of  the  national  govern 
ment  ;  one  of  the  cardinal  features  of  American  Republicanism. 
It  seeks  to  unite  the  Church  and  the  State,  it  forbids  the  free 
exercise  of  religion,  and  thereby  casts  itself  out  of  the  pale 
of  that  code  of  protection  which  the  Constitution  extends 
over  the  conscience  of  individuals,  and  the  free  enjoyment  of 
creeds  and  religious  faith. 

The  spirit  and  intent  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  covers  the  same  ground  as  that  more  expressly  recited 
passage  which  we  find  in  the  original  Constitution,  and  in  the 
present  Bill  of  Rights,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  It  says, 
Art.  1,  §  3  : 

"  The  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious  profession  and  wor 
ship,  without  discrimination  or  preference,  shall  for  ever  be  allowed 
in  this  State  to  all  mankind ;  but  the  liberty  of  conscience  hereby 
secured,  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  excuse  acts  of  licentiousness, 
or  justify  practises  inconsistent  with  the  peace  or  safety  of  this 
State." 

Hence,  anything,  or  any  person  or  persons  who,  under  the 
pretence  of  religion,  or  even  the  sanction  of  religion,  encou 
rage  licentiousness,  or  commit  acts  inconsistent  with  the 
peace  or  safety  of  the  State,  are  not  regarded  as  being  under 
the  seo-is  of  the  Constitution.  Our  institutions  would  not 
tolerate  the  practises  of  the  Fetich,  with  his  human  sacrifices, 


THE    PROTECTION    OF    THE    CONSTITUTION    FORFEITED.    103 

nor  the  Mormon,  with  his  libidinous  licentiousness,  and  the 
Romish  Church,  when  it  violates,  or  seeks  to  violate  any  of 
the  principles  embodied  in  those  institutions,  either  by  a 
denial  of  the  rights  of  conscience ;  the  suppression  or  tram 
melling  of  the  public  press ;  by  placing  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  popular  education  ;  by  alienating  the  minds  of  the  young 
from  parental  authority ;  by  restraining  the  liberty  of  indivi 
duals,  or  by  exerting  its  influence,  directly  or  indirectly,  over 
the  established  policy  of  the  state  or  country,  violates  the  sanc 
tity  of  good  faith,  and  forfeits  the  protection  which  the  Consti 
tution  affords  to  its  religious  professions.  It  places  itself  in  an 
attitude  offensive  towards  the  best  interests,  the  peace  and 
safety  of  the  nation,  and  the  people  of  the  nation  would  be 
recreant  to  every  sense  of  patriotic  duty,  if  they  did  not  place 
themselves  on  the  defensive  against  it. 


104       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CAN  A  PAPIST  BK  A  CITIZEN  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC. 

"  'Tla  not  the  many  oaths  that  make  the  truth?" 

SHAKESPEABE. 

THE  Roman  Catholic  Church  being,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  a  temporal  or  civil  government,  we  are  brought  to 
the  grave  inquiry : 

CAN  THE  SUBJECTS  OF  THAT  GOVERNMENT  BE,  AT  THE 
SAME  TIME,  CITIZENS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC  ? 

The  quality  of  a  subject  or  citizen  is  found,  not  in  the  mere 
profession  of  fealty,  but  in  fealty  itself.  The  subjects  of  that 
government  are  denominated  "papists,"  as  distinguishable 
from  the  mere  professors  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion. 
That  such  a  distinction  does  exist  is  palpable.  It  is  evi 
denced  in  the  recent  rebellion  of  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
Italy  against  the  temporal  authority  of  the  Pope ;  and  it  is 
demonstrated  in  this  country,  generally,  among  the  Catholics 
who  were  born  on  the  soil,  and  who  have  been  reared  under 
the  institutions  of  the  United  States.  This  feature  is  dis 
tinctly  visible  with^the  descendants  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
settlers  of  Louisiana,  embracing  several  generations,  all  of 


CATHOLICS    AND    PAPISTS A   DISTINCTION.  105 

whom,  while  they  retain  thereligion  of  their  fathers,  have  no 
more  respect  for  the  |>apal  character Jhan  is  entertained  for  it 
by  their  Protestant  neighbor^ Whether  this  alienation  of 
temporal  submission  is  sufficiently  positive  to  resist  the  man 
datory  authority  of  a  papal  bull,  or  a  command  in  any  shape, 
from  "  his  holiness,"  is  uncertain ;  but  that  a  fixed  hostility 
against  the  temporal  assumptions  of  the  papacy  exists  among 
those  people,  is  certain. 

In  the  genius  of  American  institutions  is  found  the  quintes 
sence  of  religious  toleration.  It  allows  the  utmost  freedom  of 
conscience,  and  the  Constitution  distinctly  forbids  any  interfe 
rence  that  would  impair  the  free  exercise  of  religious  opinion. 
It  provides  further,  that  when  an  individual  assumes  the 
duties  and  trust  of  a  public  office,  no  religious  test  shall  be 
required  of  him ;  thus  throwing  open  the  door  of  promotion 
in  civil  affairs,  to  every  citizen,  without  regard  to  his  religious 
tenets.  By  these  wise  provisions,  a  complete  alienation  of 
religion  and  politics  is  contemplated,  because  where  all  sects 
unite  in  conducting  the  affairs  of  government,  it  was  naturally 
supposed,  that  no  particular  sect  would  be  able  to  gain  an 
ascendency. 

But  while  the  Constitution  is  thus  tolerant  of  religion,  it 
certainly  does  not  give  political  rights  to  the  subjects  of  other 
powers.     The  laws,  and  principle  of  naturalization  contem 
plate  a  total  renunciation  of  all  former  allegiance  to  foreign 
authority,  and  an  entire  abandonment  of  the  mind  and  person' 
to  the  laws  and  goverment  which  the  individual  adopts  as  his  \ 
future  guide  and  authority.     In  this  it  is  evident  there  must  J 
be  no  mental  reservation,  no  division  of  the  soul  between  two 

5* 


106        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

gods,  no  equivocation  in  the  terms  of  the  new  allegiance,  but 
a  full,  complete,  and  total  renunciation  of  all  past  allegiance, 
and  all  foreign  sovereignties  whatever. 

I  have  shown,  in  a  preceding  chapter,  that  the  Pope  of 
Rome  is  a  temporal,  or  civil  sovereign,  and  also,  that  the 
character  of  his  sovereignty  is  of  the  most  inflexible  nature, 
and  the  question  before  us  is,  Can  a  subject  of  that  sovereign 
be,  at  the  same  time,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  ?  The 
mere  interrogatory,  I  confess,  is  little  short  of  an  absurdity  in 
its  intrinsic  merits,  but  the  practical  construction  of  the  sub 
ject,  by  custom,  renders  it  necessary  that  it  should  be  put  and 
answered.  ^No  man  will  say  that  an  individual  can  be  a  j5ub- 
ject  of  two  distinct,  and  opposite  sovereignties  at  the  same 
time,  because  it  is  plain,  that'  whatever  his  pretensions  may 
be,  the  predominant  attachments,  and  sense  of  duty  in  the 
individual,  must  lean  towards  one  or  the  other,  and,  in  case  of 
a  disagreement  between  the  two  sovereignties,  the  individual 
will  cast  his  influence  in  the  direction  that  his  sense  of  duty 
points  out7  Therefore,  in  the  issue  before  us,  if  a  papist 
realizes  within  himself  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  papal  sovereign 
over  his  duty  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States,  he  will 
throw  his  influence,  heart,  soul,  and  body  upon  the  side  of  the 
papacy,  and  against  the  United  States.  Any  oath  of  alle 
giance  that  he  may  have  taken  towards  the  latter  will  not 
deter  him  in  his  choice,  firstly,  because  his  sympathies  are 
antagonistic  to  the  spirit  of  the  oath,  and  secondly,  because 
he  fully  believes  that  he  will  receive  absolution  from  any 
oath  of  that  nature.  The  authority  for  this  belief  is  found  in 
the  highest  papal  authority.  Lessius,  Lib.  2,  cap,  42,  dub.  12, 


ABSOLUTION    AND    Tim    OATH    OF    ALLEGIANCE.  107 

page  632,  says :    "  The  Pope  can  annul  and  cancel  every  pos 
sible  obligation  arising  from  an  oath." 

And  the  priesthood  do  not  hesitate  to  promulgate  this  idea 
among  their  people.     The  oath  of  allegiance,  therefore,  is  of 
no  moment  to  the  papist.      It  has  with  him  no  binding  force 
whatever.   He  will  make  it,  listlessly,  as  a  matter  of  form,  and 
break  it  as  a  matter  of  conscience  and  duty,  whenever  he  is 
bidden  to  do  so  by  his  priest,  who,  in  his  estimation,  is  supe 
rior  in  authority  to  any  Protestant  government  on   earth. 
With  these  living  truths  before  us,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  avefpi 
that  no  papist  ever  took  or  can  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  / 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  in  its  letter  and  spirit,  I 
and   hence,  no  papist  can.  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  | 
States  by  the  process  of  naturalization. 

Convinced  of  this  truth,  the  framers  of  the  first  constitution 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  providing  for  the  naturalization 
of  aliens,  before  the  states  had  relinquished  that  power  to 
Congress,  declared  that  the  person  naturalized  should  re 
nounce  allegiance  to  all  foreign  powers,  "both  civil  and 
ecclesiastical."  •  But  even  this  would  not  make  citizens  of 
them  in  fact,  because  the  oath  is  null  and  void  under  any  and 
every  form,  whenever  the  Pope  chooses  to  cancel  it. 

But  the  argument  used  against  this  view  of  the  subject  is, 
that  the  sovereignty  of  the  Pope  is  only  spiritual;  that  it 
does  not  conflict  with  the  duties  of  the  individual  in  his  civil 
allegiance*.  If  this  be  so,  how  is  it  that  Mr.  Brownson 
declares,  in  the  letter  which  I  have  quoted,  that  the  Pope  is 
the  proper  authority  to  decide  for  him  as  to  the  merits  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  ?  But  we  have  a  higher 


108  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

authority  than  Mr.  Brownson  in  proof  of  the  same  theory,  for 
in  the  instructions  given  to  the  Jesuits,  Bellarmin,  controvers, 
lib.  5,  chap.  6,  page  1090,  we  are  told : 

"  The  spiritual  power  must  rule  over  the  temporal,  by  all  sorts  of 
means  and  expedients,  when  necessary.  Christians  should  not  tole 
rate  a  heretic  king." 

By  Christians  is  meant  Roman  Catholics,  because,  say 
they,  "  that  is  the  only  religion  that  God  has  founded  upon 
earth,"  and  all  others  are  pronounced  heretics.  Now,  if 
Roman  Catholics  should  not  tolerate  a  heretic  king,  the  same 
rule  applies,  of  course,  to  a  heretic  president,  or  to  any  here 
tic  government  whatever,  and  they  are  in  duty,  conscience, 
and  allegiance,  bound  to  abate  such  governments  whenever  it 
is  in  their  power  to  do  so,  "  by  all  sorts  of  means  and  expe 
dients,"  not  excepting  perjury,  treason,  or  even  murder  I 

Roman  Catholics  are  also  told  by  the  Sanctarel,  Tract  de 
Hseres.,  cap.  30,  page  296,  that 

«  The  Pope  can  depose  negligent  rulers,  and  deprive  them  of  their 
authority." 

They  are  also  taught  by  the  Emmanuel  Sa,  Aphor.,  page 
41,  that 

"The  rebellion  of  priests  is  not  treason,  because  they  are  not  sub 
ject  to  the  civil  government." 

With  theories  of  this  nature  wrought  continually  and  per- 
severingly  into  the  minds  of  the  papal  laity,  coupled  as  they  are 
with  a  superstitious  sense  of  abject  submission,  it  is  morally 


•ROMANISM    UNITED.  109 

impossible  that  those  men  can  shake  off  their  allegiance  to 
the  Pope,  and  become,  in  full  heart,  citizens  of  a  government, 
whose  every  precept  is  hostile  to  all  their  preconceived  opi 
nions,  both  temporal  and  spiritual. 

But  as  it  is  difficult  to  test  the  claim  of  superior  allegiance 
with  the  masses  of  papists  in  this  country,  under  any  circum 
stances,  less  than  a  direct  issue  between  our  government  and 
the  papal  sovereignty,  and  as  the  Pope  has  not  yet  ventured 
to  arraign  his  authority  against  our  government,  we  are  left 
to  present  such  external  evidences  of  our  theory  as  have  been 
thrown  in  our  way.  Thus,  The  Boston  Pilot,  the  editor  of 
which  is  a  thorough  partisan  under  the  banner  of  Pio  Nino, 
and  a  thorough  hater  of  everything  American,  except  the , 
liberty  which  America  affords  him  to  vilify  her  best  men 
and  her  noblest  institutions,  in  1852  uttered  the  following 
declaration  in  connection  with  the  presidential  election,  then 
just  at  hand : 

"  Show  the  Catholic  that  his  Church  is  likely  to  suffer  by  the  elec 
tion  of  a  certain  candidate,  and  you  can  easily  divine  whither  his 
vole  will  go." 

In  other  words,  make  the  Roman  Catholic  believe  there  is 
an  issue  between  his  Church  and  the  interests  of  the  country, 
and  he  will  vote  on  the  side  of  his  Church — the  latter  claim 
ing  and  receiving  his  superior  allegiance.  The  hierarchy  has 
only  to  declare  to  the  people  that  the  papal  interest  will  b< 
subserved  by  the  election  of  certain  men,  and  its.  people  will 
vote  for  those  men,  because  what  may  be  required  of  one, 
may  be  required  6f  all,  being  all  alike  subject  to  the  political 


110       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN"  POLICY. 

control  of  the  Church.      Besides,  the  same  editor  says,  in  the 
same  article : 

1  Where  Catholic  interests  are  concerned,  we  present  the  spectacle, 
extraordinary  in  this  age  of  the  world,  of  a  vast  body,  moving  with 
out  any  visible  force  to  impel  them,  as  one  man." 

Thus  we  see  that  in  its  political  interest  the  entire  papacy 
moves  with  a  single  impulse,  and  that  invisible  impulse  is 
ever  directed  to  the  supposed  interests  of  the  Church.  Oaths 
of  allegiance  are  forgotten  when  the  Church  issues  her  secret 
command,  partisan  affiliations,  individual  judgment,  personal 
interests,  the  laws  of  the  land,  nay,  even  the  integrity  of  the 
nation  itself,  must  be  sacrificed  and  laid  aside  whenever  the 
Church  issues  its  edict  to  the  papal  subject. 

The  American  people  have  seen  this  declaration  of  the 
Boston  Pilot,  practically  illustrated  in  a  small  way,  at  our 
elections,  a  thousand  times,  and  the  only  inference  that  can 
be  drawn  from  the  facts  herein  presented,  is  that  a  Romanist 
cannot  renounce  his  allegiance  to  the  papal  authority,  and  yet 
remain  a  Romanist.  He  may  swear  allegiance,  it  is  true,  to 
forty  different  governments,  with  a  quiet  conscience,  because 
the  Pope  stands  ready  to  cancel  his  oath,  but  he  is  commanded 
by  the  Church,  to  "  use  all  sorts  of  means  and  expedients " 
to  make  the  civil  power  subordinate  to  the  spiritually  which 
is  meant  that  all  civil  authority  must  yield  to  Roman  Catholic 
supremacy,  whenever  the  physical,  mSral,  or  political  power 
of  its  subjects  is  sufficient  to  sustain  the  authority  of  the 
sovereign  at  the  Vatican. 

In  this  chapter,  I  have  quoted  certain  ancient  authorities 


ROMANISM    UNITED.  Ill 

of  the  Church,  to  show  that  the  obligation  of  an  oath  made 
by  a  papist,  of  whatever  character  or  importance,  may  be 
rendered  void  and  entirely  nugatory,  upon  the  simple  fiat  of 
a  single  man.  I  design  now,  to  show  that,  at  the  present  day, 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  this  government  is  regarded  by  the 
officers  of  the  Church,  as  absolutely  void  in  fact.  The  public 
authority  which  1^  find,  sustaining  this  view,  is  a  statement 
made  in  the  Harrisburg  Herald,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
month  of  November,  1855.  The  statement  is  in  the  follow 
ing  words : 

"  It  is  related  of  Dr.  De  Earth,  the  Jesuit  priest  and  vicar-general 
of  Pennsylvania,  that  when  told  by  a  brother  that  he  could  not  take 
the  oath  of  naturalization  to  America  without  violating  the  oath  of 
ordination  to  the  Roman  Pontiff,  he  pronounced  it  a  mistake,  and 
promptly  remarked  that,  any  part  of  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  this 
country,  which  may  be  incompatible  with  the  first  and  greater 
allegiance  to  the  Pontiff,  is  of  no  obligation." 

As  this  statement  has  never  been  contradicted^  the  public 
are  justified  in  entertaining  the  opinion  that  it  is  truly 
made. 

The  morale  of  the  declaration  is  just  this,  to  wit :  that  the 
Romish  priest  or  Jesuit  may  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  United  States  without  hesitation  or  scruple,  because,  in 
whatever  it  conflicts  with  his  superior  allegiance  ttf  the  Pon 
tiff,  it  is  of  no  effect — a  mere  empty  formula — in  fact,  a 
mockery,  and  intended  as  such.  Now  as  the  allegiance 
claimed  by  the  Pontiff  is  superior  in  all  things,  temporal  and 
spiritual,  to  that  due  to  any  heretical  government,  it  follows, 


112  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE   AMERICAN   POLICY. 

as  a  matter  of  course,  that  the  entire  oath  is  in  conflict  with 
the  superior  allegiance,  and  consequently  the  entire  oath  is 
null  and  void. 

The  editor  of  the  paper  in  which  this  statement  appeared, 
accompanied  it  with  the  following  appropriate  comments : 

"  This  is  the  true  higher  law  doctrine  of  the  papacy.  It  leads  to 
perjury  against  the  priest,  or  to  treason  and  rebellion  against  the 
State.  But  what  if  it  does  ?  Perjury,  treason,  and  rebellion  can 
easily  be  pardoned  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  and  a  temporal 
penalty  can  be  better  borne  than  eternal  perdition.  The  pardoning 
power  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  does  not  compare  with 
the  pardoning  power  of  the  Pontiff  and  his  priests.  It  is  humiliating 
that  three  millions  of  the  American  people  should  be  under  the 
authority  of  two  distinct  sovereigns.  Professing  attachment  to  the 
constitution  of  their  country,  their  hearts  are  corded  spiritually  to 
the  throne  of  a  foreign  potentate." 

These  remarks  apply  with  equal  force  to  ecclesiastics  and 
laity,  or  at  least  to  that  portion  of  the  laity  which  surren 
ders  its  entire  conscience  to  the  priesthood,  because  the 
claims  of  the  hierarchy,  extending  alike  over  the  spiritual 
and  the  temporal — or,  in  other  words,  the  spiritual  authority 
being  superior  to  the  temporal— the  latter  is  required  to 
submit  in  all  things  to  the  former.  This  has  been  repeat 
edly  declared  by  the  modern  as  well  as  the  ancient  authori 
ties  of  the  Church,  as  has  been  already  shown  in  this 
volume. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  the  following  statement 
exhibits  the  deep-seated  and  absorbing  servility  of  the  adhe- 


AMERICA    UNWORTHY    OF    THE    POPE.  H3 

rents  of  the  papacy  to   their   regal  master,  the   sovereign 
Pontiff. 

In  the  year  1849,  during  that  critical  interregnum  in 
which  the  present  Pontiff  was  an  exile,  or  rather  a  refugee 
from  Rome,  a  rumor  was  circulated  to  the  effect  that  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  Pope  to  take  refuge  in  the  United 
States.  This  intention  was  urgently  and  prayerfully  resisted 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  press  in  both  hemispheres.  The 
American  people  are  certainly  prepared  to  witness,  at  any 
time,  and  at  all  times,  a  devotional  attachment,  to  the  fullest 
extent,  towards  the  Pope,  on  the  part  of  his  religious  follow 
ers  in  this  country,  but  it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  they 
were  not  prepared  for  that  utter  humiliation,  that  prostra 
tion  of  manhood,  that  wholesale  abnegation  of  patriotism,  and 
that  unblushing  public  avowal  of  servile  prostration,  which 
is  embodied  in  the  following  extract  from  the  Freeman's 
Journal.  Alluding  to  the  rumored  intention  of  the  Pope  to 
make  this  country  his  place  of  exile,  that  journal  uses  the 
following  extraordinary  language  : 

"  Sooner  than  that  impracticable  absurdity  should  occur,  sooner 
than  the  consecrated  foot  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ  should  bear  him  to 
a  soil  where  more  than  half  of  the  public  press  would  insult  him,  and 
more  than  half  of  the  remainder  exhaust  themselves  in-  efforts  to 
make  political  capital  out  of  him— sooner  than  he  should  come  to  a 
land  where  more  than  one  half  the  Catholic  population,  ignorant  of 
the  etiquette  that  so  distinguishes  even  the  poorest  peasantry  of  a 
Catholic  land,  would  gape  at  him  with  their  hats  on,  or  sit  in  his 
presence  with  their  heels  up  in  the  air— we  would  exclaim,  with  the 
Cercle  Catholique  of  France— <  Rather  will  we  go  to  you— our  arms, 
our  wealth,  our  lives,  are  at  your  service  ;  yes,  we  love  you  far 


114       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

more  than  we  love  our  country  or  our  homes — we  are  ready,  at  a  sign 
from  you,  to  chase  out  those  robbers  from  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter, 
and  to  reestablish  your  throne  in  the  Vatican— but,  Holy  Father,  do 
not  afflict  our  Catholic  hearts  by  seeing  you  in  a  land  which  is  so 
unworthy  of  you,  and  which  is  too  little  advanced  in  the  race  of  the 
Christian  civilization  to  know  how  to  receive  you  becomingly 


'  ' 


Here  is  one,  recognized  as  an  American  citizen,  who  does 
not  hesitate  to  declare  that  he  "  loves  the  Pope  of  Rome  far 
more  than  he  loves  his  country  or  his  home."  What  allegi 
ance  can  such  a  man  give  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  ?  It  can  be  at  the  best  but  a  negative  allegiance,  and 
therefore  is  void,  without  the  formal  intervention  of  pontifi- 
cial  authority. 


THE  ROMISH  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA.         115 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  PAPAL  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES— THE 
SEVEN  PROVINCES — THE  HIERARCHY — COMPARATIVE  VIEW  OF  IRELAND,  ENGLAND, 
SCOTLAND,  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

THE  advocates  and  partakers  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
while  the}7  recognize  the  antagonistic  character  and  tenden 
cies  of  Romanism,  are  unwilling  to  realize  the  possibility  that 
an  element  so  hostile  to  their  welfare  can  by  any  possibility 
gain  a  foothold* strong  enough,  or  a  political  influence 
sufficiently  pervading  in  this  land  of  light  and  intelligence, 
to  produce  any  perceptible  adulteration  of  their  darling  insti 
tutions.  I  have  already  shown  that  through  the  corruption 
of  demagogues,  Romanism  has  made  itself  heard  and  felt  in 
the  public  policy  of  the  several  States,  as  well  as  of  the 
General  Government.  It  remains  for  me  to  exhibit  (what 
few  persons  have  as  yet  realized),  the  rapid  increase  of  the 
Romish  influence  in  the  United  States,  and  the  means  which 
it  possesses,  of  exerting  a  dangerous  power  over  the  public  ser 
vants  of  the  people. 

Prior  to  the  year  1808,  we  have  no  official  data  of  the 
extent  of  Romanism  in  the  United  States,  because  it  was  not 
until  about  that  time  that  the  hierarchy  of  the  country 
assumed  a  tangible  and  effective  form.  In  that  year,  the 


116        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

number  of  Roman  Catholics  was  so  insignificant  as  to  warrant 
the  establishment  of  but  one  diocese,  and  that  embraced  the 
whole  territory  of  the  United  States,  including  the  Indian 
missions.  In  1855,  there  are  no  less  than  forty-one  dioceses 
and  two  apostolic  Vi caries. 

In  1808  there  were  but  two  bishops;  in  1855  there  are 
forty  bishops. 

In  1808  there  were  no  archbishops;  in  1855  there  are 
seven  archbishops. 

In  1808  there  were  but  sixty-eight  priests;  in  1855  there 
are  one  thousand,  seven  hundred  and  four  priests. 

In  1808  they  were  but  eighty  churches  ;  in  1855  there  are 
one  thousand,  eif/ht  hundred  and  twenty-four  churches. 

In  1808  there  were  no  missionary  stations;  in  1855  there 
are  six  hundred  and  seventy-eight  missionary  stations. 

In  1808  there  were  but  two  ecclesiastical  institutions,  and 
but  one  college ;  in  1855  there  are  thirty-seven  ecclesiastical 
institutions,  and  twenty-one  colleges,  all  of  which  are  employed 
in  the  education  of  priests  and  Jesuits.  The  laity  have  no 
such  means  of  instruction  provided  for  them. 

In  1808,  there  were  but  two  Female  Academies  -(so 
called);  in  1855,  there  are  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
Female  Academies.  The  object  of  these  seminaries,  which 
are  all  under  the  management  of  Jesuitical  nuns,  superin 
tended  by  priests  and  Jesuits,  is  to  obtain  Protestant  young 
ladies  as  scholars,  and  it  is  a  singular  circumstance  that  they 
are  almost  entirely  supported  by  Protestants,  notwithstanding 
that  a  large  proportion  of  the  conversions  to  Romanism  are 
effected  through  these  "  Female  Academies."  Without  the 


INCREASE    OF    ROMANISM.  117 

material  aid  afforded  by  Protestant  pupils,  the  hierarchy 
could  not  sustain  ten  of  these  propagandist  institutions  in  the 
United  States. 

The  Roman  Catholic  population  I  have  no  means  of  ascer 
taining.  It  is  evidently  kept  out  of  view  from  some  sinister 
motive.  In  1851,  the  Catholic  Almanac  gave  what  pur 
ported  to  be  a  nearly  correct  census,  derived  from  the  reports 
of  the  bishops,  and  at  that  time  the  Romish  population  was 
set  down  at  a  little  over  two  millions  and  a  half,  evidently  far 
short  of  the  actual  number.  In  1855  the  reports  exhibit 
only  1,844,500 !  presenting  an  unaccountable  decrease  in 
four  years.  This  matter  is  explained,  however,  in  the  follow 
ing  paragraph,  which  accompanies  the  official  summary,  as 
published  in  the  Catholic  Almanac  for  1855,  page  290  : 

"  The  figures  of  population  in  the  table,  are  those  returned  by  the 
most  Rev.  and  Right  Rev.  Bishops,  but  as  they  are  not  complete,  we 
forbear  any  hypothetical  estimate  of  the  total  number  of  Catholics  in 
the  United  States,  in  regard  to  which  there  exists  so  vast  a  differ 
ence  of  opinion." 

It  may  be  deemed  good  policy,  on  the  part  of  the  bishops, 
to  create  this  "vast  difference  of  opinion  "  on  the  subject ;  and 
we  are  compelled  to  the  belief  that  there  is  a  motive  in  thus 
concealing  their  actual  numbers.  Certainly,  no  class  of  peo 
ple  possess  the  facilities  for  a  correct  census  in  so  great  a 
degree  as  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  to  suppose  that  the 
bishops  of  the  several  dioceses  do  not  possess  a  true  record  of 
their  number  would  be  no  less  than  a  reflection  upon  their 
proverbial  accuracy  in  what  relates  to  the  interests  of  "  the 


118        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

Church."  Whether  the  "  very  reverends,"  and  the  "  right 
reverends"  apprehend  a  panic  in  the  United  States,  by  an 
exposure  of  their  real  numbers,  or  whether  they  are  ashamed 
to  exhibit  their  actual  weakness,  after  such  self-confident 
declarations  as  they  have  put  forth,  remains  a  matter  of  con 
jecture.  In  either  case,  we  are  -left  to  draw  our  inference  of 
population  from  their  ecclesiastical  statistics,  which  I  continue 
to  quote. 

In  the  year  1808,  there  were  no  papal  provinces  in  the 
United  States;"  in  1855,  there  are  seven  papal  provinces,  viz: 

The  Province  of  BALTIMORE,        The  Province  of  ST.  Louis, 
"  "  NEW  ORLEANS,    "  "  OREGON  CITY, 

"  "  NEW  YORK,         "  "  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

"  "  CINCINNATI, 

Besides,  the  "  Apostolic  vicariates  "  of  the  Indian  Territory, 
and  of  Upper  Michigan.  Thus  it  is  to  be  seen  that  the 
"  prince  temporal  and  spiritual,"  whose  throne  is  at  the  city 
of  the  seven  Hills,  whose  possessions  are  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  has  not  hesitated  to  parcel  and  stake  out  the  territory 
of  "  Uncle  Sam  "  into  provinces,  over  each  of  which  he  has 
appointed  a  vice-roi,  or  archbishop,  with  subordinate  offi 
cials  to  manage  the  minor  subdivisions.  All  that  is  now 
wanting  to  centralize  this  immense  papal  authority  in  the 
United  States,  and  to  give  an  absolute  direction  to  its  politi 
cal  influence  through  the  right  of  suffrage,  is  the  appointment 
of  a  cardinal,  with  supreme  authority.  Such  an  event  will 
undoubtedly  take  place  as  soon  as  the  public  sentiment  of  the 
country  will  render  it  prudent  and  safe.  At  the  present  time, 


BOMAN    PROVINCES    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


119 


the   hierarchy   in   the  United    States  is  constituted  as  fol 
lows  : 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  BALTIMORE  is  composed  of  the  following 
sees,  embracing  the  cities,  together  With  the  adjacent  terri 
tory,  to  wit: 


The  City  of  Baltimore,  Md., 

"        "  Charleston,  S.  C., 

"  Erie,  Pa., 

"  Wheeling,  Va., 

"        "  Richmond,  Va., 

"  Philadelphia,  Pa., 

"        "  Pittsburgh,  Pa., 

"        "  Savannah,  Geo., 


Archbishop  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick. 
Bishop,        Ignatius  Reynolds. 

"  Michael  O'Connor. 

"  Richard  Y.  Wheelan. 

"  John  McGill. 

"  John  N.  Newmann. 

Josue  M.  Young. 

"  Vacant. 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  comprises 

The  City  of  New  Orleans,  La.,    Archbishop,  Anthony  Blanc. 
"        "       Mobile,  La.,  Bishop,         Michael  Porter. 

"        "       Galveston,  Texas,        "  John  M.  Odin. 

"        "       Little  Rock,  Ark.,        "  Andrew  Byrne. 

"       Natchez,  Miss.  James  0.  Van  de  Velde. 

"        "       Natchitoches,  Texas.   "  Augustus  Martin. 


THE  PROVINCE  OF  NEW  YORK  comprises  . 


The  City  of  NewYork, 

"  Albany,  N.  Y., 

"        "  Boston,  Mass., 

"        "  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 

"        "  Hartford,  Conn., 

"        "  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 

"        "  Newark,  N.  J.. 


Archbishop,  John  Hughes. 
Bishop,  John  McCloskey. 

John  Fitzpatrick. 

John  Timon. 

Bernard  O'Reilly. 

John  Loughlin. 
"  James  R.  Bayley. 


120       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY". 

The  City  of  Burlington,  N.  J.,    Bishop,          Louis  De  Goe.sbriaiul 
"        "        Portland,  Me.,  "  Vacant. 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  CINCINNATI  comprises 

The  City  of  Cincinnati,  0.,  .  Archbishop,  John  B.  Purcell. 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Bishop,         Martin  J.  Spalding. 

Detroit,  Mich.,  "        *       peter  P.  Lefevere. 

Vincennes,  Ind.,  «               Maurice  De  St.  Palais. 

"  *   Cleveland,  0.,  "               Amedeus  Rappe. 

Covington,  Ky.,  «                George  A.  Carrell. 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  ST.  Louis  comprises 

The  City  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Archbishop,  Peter  Richard  Kenrick. 

"         "        Dubuque,  Iowa,  Bishop,  Mathias  Loras, 

"        "        Nashville,  Tenn.,         «  Richard  P.  Miles. 

"        "       Milwaukie,  Wis.,         "  John  P.  Henni. 

District  of  St.  Paul's,  Minnesota,    "  Joseph  Cretin. 

The  City  of  Santa  Fe,  N.  Mex.,       "  John  Lamy. 

"        "        Chicago,  111.,  "  Anthony  O'Regan. 

"        Quincy,  111.,  «  Vacant. 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  OREGON  CITY  comprises 

Oregon  City,  Oregon,  Archbishop,  Francis  N.  Blanchet. 

Nesqualy,  Bishop,  Magloire  Blanchet. 

Fort  Hall  and  Colville,  By  the  Archbishop. 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO  comprises 

The  City  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  Archbishop,  Joseph  H.  Alemany. 
"        "       Monterey,  Cal.,  Bishop,  Thaddeus  Amat. 

THE   APOSTOLIC   VICARIATE   of   the   Indian   Territory   is 
administered  by  John  B.  Miege,  Bishop  of  Messena. 


ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    CATHOLICS    IN    AMERICA.        121 

THE  APOSTOLIC  VICARIATE  of  Upper  Michigan  is  adminis 
tered  by  Frederick  Baraga,  Bishop  of  Amyzonia. 

With  these  statistics,  gathered  from  the  official  sources,  we 
are  enabled  to  form  a  reasonable  estimate  of  the  papal  popu 
lation  in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time,  or  rather  in 
1854,  because  the  statistics  published  in  1855  were  collated 
during  the  previous  year.  Doubtless,  many  of  the  American 
people  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  the  hierarchy  of  the 
Romish  Church  in  the  United  States  of  Protestant  America, 
is  far  more  numerous  than  that  of  Roman  Catholic  Ireland, 
and  nearly  equal  to  those  of  Ireland,  England,  and  Scotland, 
combined ;  yet  such  is  the  fact.  In  the  United  States  there 
are  forty  bishops  and  archbishops. 

In  Ireland,  there  are  but  twenty-eight  bishops  and  arch 
bishops,  viz. :  In  the  diocese  of  Ulster,  ten;  in  Leinster,/cwr; 
in  Munster,  eight ;  and  in  Connaught,  six. 

In  England,  there  are  thirteen  bishops,  including  the  Cardi 
nal  Wiseman,  and  in  Scotland  there  are  four  bishops,  making 
a  total  of  forty-five  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  and 
forty  in  the  United  States  of  America !  With  these  state 
ments  before  us,  we  are  left  to  solve  as  we  may,  the  following 
problem,  namely : 

If  twenty-eight  bishops  are  sufficient  to  guard  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  welfare  of  seven  millions  of  Roman  Catholics 
in  Ireland,  how  many  Roman  Catholics  should  there  be  in  the 
United  States  to  require  the  temporal  and  spiritual  guardian 
ship  of  forty  bishop  ? 

How  complete  is  this  politico-religious  organization  in 
Protestant  America !  How  pervading,  how  subtle,  how  auda- 

6 


122       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

cious  !  The  ramifications  in  our  land  are  but  the  arteries  and 
veins  that  receive  their  life's  blood  from  the  great  heart  at 
the  Vatican,  in  Rome,  and  return  it  again  to  its  source  !  It 
is  that  power  which  denies  the  right  of  the  people  to  govern, 
and  which  claims  to  itself  all  the  attributes  of  authority  over 
all  mankind,  by  divine  dispensation.  It  denounces  liberty  of 
conscience  as  a  "  a  pestilential  error"  and  liberty  of  opinion  as 
"a pest  of  all  others  most  to  be  dreaded  in  a  state"  It  asserts 
its  authority  to  "  overturn  governments,"  to  "depose  heretical 
rulers"  and  declares  its  determination  to  "  exterminate "  all 
who  do  not  subscribe  to  its  faith.  It  denounces  the  liberty 
of  the  press,  that  highway  of  popular  thought,  as  a  license 
"  to  be  execrated  and  detested"  Denying  to  all  mankind  the 
right  of  opinion,  conscience,  speech,  and  research,  it  demands 
of  them  their  substance,  and  taxes  its  people  without  accoun 
tability.  It  is  the  foe  of  all  liberty,*  the  foe  of  the  Protest 
ants,  the  foe  of  our  government,  and  yet  we  sleep  while  it  is 
insidiously  but  rapidly  fastening  its  deadly  coils  about  us,  and 
all  that  is  dear  to  us !  Americans !  Protestants !  Ye  who 
have  been  cradled  in  the  lap  of  freedom,  shake  oft'  the  slug- 

*  When  the  Congress  of  New  Grenada,  in  1851,  adopted  their  new  Constitution, 
which  required  the  clergy  to  submit  to  the  civil  law  in  matters  of  a  temporal 
nature,  the  Archbishop  Mosquera,  finding  it  impossible  to  coerce  the  government  into 
a  repeal  of  the  act,  left  the  country  and  appealed  to  the  Pope.  The  appeal  brought 
forth  a  bull  from  the  Vatican  against  the  Congress  of  New  Grenada,  in  which, 
among  other  heresies  committed  by  that  body,  his  holiness  sets  forth  the  following  : 

"  Nor  must  we  pass  over  in  silence,  that,  by  the  new  Constitution  of  that  Repub 
lic,  enacted  in  these  recent  times,  among  other  things,  the  right,  also,  of  fre« 
education  is  defended,  and  liberty  of  all  kinds  is  given  unto  all,  so  that  each 
person  may  even  print  and  publish  his  thoughts,  and  all  kinds  of  monstrous 
portents  of  opinions;  and  profess  privately  and  puliHefa whatever  worship  h« 
pleases." 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  NEW  GRENADA.         123 

gish  torpor  of  your  souls,  cast  away  the  partisan  traitors  who 
would  have  bargained  away  your  inheritance,  look  about  you, 
read,  think,  hear,  believe  and  act  for  yourselves  !  You  have 
been  too  long  confiding  in  mere  seekers  after  office.  Let, 
now,  your  own  judgments  and  your  own  reason  speak  to  you 
and  for  you.  They  will  call  to  you,  not  as  whigs,  not  as 
democrat?,  not  as  freesoilers,  not  as  abolitionists,  not  as 
secessionists,  no,  not  as  factionists,  fusionists,  or  sectionists  of 
any  grade,  but  by  the  sacred  title  of  Americans,  as  Unionists, 
as  patriots,  they  will  call  to  you ;  and  your  own  conscience, 
your  own  interests  will  respond.  In  your  hands  is  the  destiny 
of  your  country ;  you  hold  the  charter  of  rational  liberty,  you 
must  not,  you  will  not,  you  dare  not  be  false  to  the  trust. 


124  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICT. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE. 

FREEDOM  of  the  press,  and  of  discussion ;  the  right  of  suf 
frage  ;  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  and  the  right  of  petition,  are 
essential  ingredients  of  American  Republicanism.  It  would 
not  be  complete  if  either  of  these  were  withdrawn  from  its 
charter,  and  where  they  are  not,  there  can  be  no  popular 
liberty.  The  suffrage  franchise,  however,  involves,  measura 
bly,  all  the  others,  because  with  the  power  to  choose  their 
lawgivers,  the  people  hold,  indirectly,  the  power  to  shape  the 
laws  themselves,  and  as  the  choice  of  rulers  involves  one  of 
the  most  important  and  delicate  duties  of  the  citizen,  so  the 
right  of  suffrage  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  dignified  of 
all  the  social  privileges. 

In  the  choice  of  public  officers,  especially  those  of  a  legis 
lative  and  judicial  character,  the  people,  for  the  time  being, 
surrender  their  sovereignty  into  the  hands  of  those  whom 
they  have  chosen  as  their  representatives,  and  agree  to  sub 
mit  their  public  interests  and  individual  safety  to  the  gui 
dance,  care,  and  control  of  the  chosen  government.  When 
the  vote  is  given  the  sovereign  power  of  the  voter  passes  away, 
and  he  voluntarily  becomes  a  temporary  subject,  with  the 


THE  SOVEREIGNTY  OF  THE  PEOPLE.         125 

full  understanding  that  lie  is  to  remain  obedient  to  the 
authority  he  has  assisted  in  creating,  until  the  return  of  the 
periodical  elections,  when  he  again  assumes  the  sovereignty, 
reviews  the  acts  of  his  public  agents  while  in  authority,  and 
with  his  vote,  censures  or  applauds  their  course. 

Under  a  system  like  this  there  is  no  merit  in  being  able  to 
to  say,  "  the  Americans  are  a  law-abiding  people,"  however 
gratifying  the  fact  may  be,  because  if  they  elect  bad  men  to 
office,  and  thus  become  afflicted  with  bad  laws,  or  an  unjust 
administration  of  the  laws,  the  people  have  only  themselves 
to  blame.  They  realize  a  full  consciousness  that  the  result  is 
one  growing  out  of  their  own  heedlessness  or  neglect,  and 
while  they  submit  to  the  infliction,  they  resolve  to  be  more 
prudent  in  the  choice  of  men  for  the  future.  The  exercise  of 
the  franchise"  of  the  suffrage,  then,  involves  something  more 
than  the  mere  mechanical  act  of  voting.  Associated  with 
that  act  are  the  requisites  of  thought,  judgment,  reflection  ;  a 
knowledge  of  men,  an  understanding  of  the  effect  of  measures, 
a  fixedness  of  principle  and  purpose,  and  a  general  apprecia 
tion  of  the  effect  ivhich  the  vote  is  calculated  to  create.  In 
other  words,  the  act  of  depositing  a  vote  is  an  act  of  intelli 
gence.  It  is  an  expression  of  individual  opinion,  and  no 
opinion  can  exist  without  a  basis  of  some  sort  in  the  mind  of 
its  possessor.  But  it  is  more  than  this.  The  act  of  voting 
is  an  act  of  fealty.  It  is  the  most  solemn  duty  that  the  citi 
zen  is  called  upon  to  perform  towards  the  sovereignty  of  the 
country,  and  it  cannot  be  legitimately  performed  by  one  who 
is  either  prejudiced  against  or  indifferent  towards  the  institu 
tions  of  the  land.  It  is  the  act  of  patriotism  as  well  as  .  >f 


126 


A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


intelligence.  The  man  who  votes  with  any  prejudice  against, 
the  institutions  of  the  country,  will  vote  to  suppress  or 'destroy 
those  institutions,  and  he  who  is  indifferent  towards  them,  or 
he  who  does  not  realize  and  appreciate  the  purpose  and  effect 
of  the  vote,  will  be  swayed  to  and  fro  by  every  conflicting 
influence  that  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  him,  and  he  is 
quite  as  likely  to  vote  against  his  own  best  interests,  and  the 
best  interests  of  the  community,  as  he  is  to  vote  for  them. 
Such  men  should  never  be  permitted  to  exercise  the  right  of 
suffrage.  They  are,  at  the  best,  but  the  allies  of  demagogues. 
The  man  who  would  barter  or  sequester  his  vote  disfran 
chises  himself.  He  is  unfit  for  a  freeman,  and  doubly  unfit  to 
direct  the  interests  of  freemen. 

In  this  I  take  direct  issue  with  democracy.  As  I  under 
stand  the  term,  I  am  no  democrat.  If  democracy  implies 
universal  suffrage,  or  the  right  of  all  men  to  take  part  in  the 
control  of  the  State,  without  regard  to  the  intelligence,  the 
morals,  or  the  principles  of  the  man,  I  am  no  democrat.  If 
democracy  implies  freedom  without  restraint,  license  without 
control,  or  impulse  without  judgment,  I  am  no  democrat.  As 
soon  would  I  place  my  person  and  property  at  the  mercy  of 
an  infuriated  mob,  and  hope  to  save  -them,  as  place  the  liber 
ties  of  my  country  in  the  hands  of  an  ignorant,  superstitious, 
and  vacillating  populace.  How  can  the  greatest  of  all 
sciences — the  science  of  government  —  be  appreciated  or 
attained  by  the  mind  that  is  besotted  in  ignorance  ?  How 
can  liberal  institutions  be  conserved  without  patriotism  in  the 
masses  ?  How  can  the  security  of  a  people  be  guaranteed  by 
the  vacillating  impulses  of  depravity  ?  How  can  true  and  - 


WHAT    IS    DEMOCRACY?  12*7 

rational  liberty  be  maintained  by  those  who  recognize  it  only 
as  the  outlet  of  their  passions  and  desires  ?  Men  who  cannot 
govern  themselves,  whether  from  imbecility  or  venality,  must 
not  essay  to  govern  others.  Men  who  are  lax  in  principle, 
will  make  laws  and  elect  lawgivers  in  conformity  with  their  own 
notions  of  right  and  wrong ;  hence  the  utmost  prudence  should 
be  observed  in  granting  or  extending  the  right  of  suffrage. 

It  was  a  custom  with  the  democracy  of  Athens  to  ostracize, 
that  is,  to  banish,  for  ten  years,  such  of  their  citizens  as,  from 
their  wealth  or  influence,  might  be  deemed  dangerous  to  the 
state.  The  act  of  ostracism  was  performed  at  a  public  assem 
blage  of  the  people,  who  voted  by  writing  the  name  of  the 
person  to  be  ostracized  upon  a  shell,  and  delivering  it  to  the 
archons,  or  inspectors,  who  counted  the  votes,  and  if  six  .thou 
sand  or  more  votes  appeared  against  an  individual,  he  was  so 
banished.  It  is  related  that  on  one  occasion  the  people  were 
assembled  for  the  performance  of  this  singular  public  duty. 
The  name  of  Aristides,  a  man  proverbial  for  the  purity  of  his 
character,  and  surnamed  "  The  Just,"  had  been  announced  as 
a  fitting  subject  for  banishment.  Aristides  being  present  in 
the  assembly,  was  accosted  by  a  citizen  who,  being  unable  to 
write,  requested  him  to  write  the  name  of  Aristides  upon  his 
shell.  Taking  the  shell  in  his  hand,  Aristides  said  to  the 
man : 

"  Do  you  know  Aristides  ?" 

"  No,"  answered  the  citizen. 

"  Why,  then,  do  you  vote  to  ostracize  him  3" 

"  Because  I  am  tired  with  hearing  him  called  « The  Just;  " 
was  the  petulant  answer, 


A  DEFENCE  OP  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

Aristides  immediately  wrote  his  own  name  on  the  shwl, 
and  having  returned  it  to  the  voter,  passed  on  in  silence. 

If  such  are  the  results  of. universal  suffrage,  or  "pure 
democracy,"  the  system,  is  certainly,  little  calculated  to  pro 
mote  good  government. 

The  legitimate  qualifications  of  a  voter  in  the  United 
States  do  not,  by  any  means,  involve  the  highest  grade  of 
intelligence,  nor  even  the  most  perfect  standard  of  morality. 
They  require  intelligence  sufficient  to  form  the  basis  of  an 
independent  opinion  on  the  prominent  measures  of  national 
policy,  and  the  honesty  and  capacity  of  men;  and  they 
require  morality  sufficient  to  form  a  firm  and  inflexible  politi 
cal  integrity,  and  an  unwavering  patriotism,  or  love  of  the 
home  country  and  its  institutions.  These  qualifications  are 
sufficient,  and  there  are  but  few  Americans  who  have  not 
acquired  them  by  intuition,  before  they  arrived  at  the  age  of 
manhood. 

The  first  political  idea  that  is  presented  to  the  mind  of  one 
reared  under  the  influences  of  American  Republicanism,  is 
equality.  Through  the  avenues  and  surroundings  of  repub 
lican  custom,  the  mind  of  the  American  boy  steps  naturally 
upon  the  platform  of  equality,  as  soon  as  he  is  old  enough  to 
comprehend  any  general  principles.  He  finds  no  privileged 
class  above  him  to  subdue  and  neutralize  his  youthful  spirit- 
no  aristocracy  to  overawe  the  innate  impulses  and  aspirations 
of  the  free  soul.  He  looks  around,  and  finds  himself  the  peer 

of  his  associates;  he  encounters  no  superior  of  his  own  age 

no  master  except  over  his  imperfections.     His  mind  roams  at 
large,  and  gains  strength  by  activity ;  he  reads,  lie  listens  to 


FORCE    OF    FIRST    IMPRESSIONS.  129 

his  elders,  he  forms  opinions  on  topics  within  the  scope  of  his 
mind,  and  fearlessly  expresses  them,  and  thus,  by  early  habit 
learns  to  demand  of  others  "  nothing  but  what  is  right,  and 
to  submit  to  nothing  that  is  wrong."  It  is  the  character  of 
righteous  independence,  and  thus  fortified,  he  enters  with  a 
firm  step  and  a  reflecting  mind,  upon  the  duties  of  a  citizen. 
This  independence  of  character  gives  force  to  his  principles, 
and  vigor  to  his  integrity.  It  quickens  his  perception, 
encourages  a  becoming  self-respect,  expands  his  understand 
ing,  and  thus  qualifies  him  early  for  a  rational  comprehension 
and  a  free  exercise  of  the  prerogatives  of  an  intelligent  and 
moral  citizen. 

These  qualifications  are  rarely  found  in  one  trained  to 
submission,  and  imbued  with  a  sense  of  his  own  inferiority. 
Such  a  man,  coming  from  the  twilight  of  bondage  into  the 
broad  meridian  of  freedom,  is  dazzled  with  the  unaccustomed 
glory  that  surrounds  him.  His  confused  senses  cannot  endure 
the  light.  He  is  lost,  bewildered.  He  can  neither  compre 
hend  nor  realize  his  new  position.  Accustomed  to  cringe  in 
the  presence  of  his  "  betters,"  he  looks  in  vain  for  a  living 
shrine  that  will  accept  the  homage  of  his  bended  knee.  By 
slow  degrees,  he  at  length  imbibes  a  faint  idea  of  the  transi 
tion  that  he  has  encountered.  He  is  told  that  he  inhabits  a 
land  of  liberty  and  equality.  He  gets  a  confused  notion  that 
a  great  change  has  taken  place  in  his  condition,  but  the 
nature  of  the  change  is  yet  unrevealed  to  his  mental  faculties. 
He  has  heard  something  about  "  liberty "  before,  without 
knowing  what  was  meant,  but  the  word  "  equality,"  is  not 
found  in  his  lexicon,  and  he  can't  make  out  liow  it  is  that  he 

6* 


130       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

is  "  as  good  as  other  people."  His  mind  is  not  a  blank,  it  is 
worse  than  a  blank.  He  has  had  engraven  thereon,  by  the 
hand  of  a  stern  artist,  thoughts  and  fancies  adapted  to  his 
former  state — lessons,  not  of  rational  obedience,  merely,  but  of 
low,  slavish,  abject  submission,  and  it  is  difficult  to  rub  out 
the  impression,  and  make  a  clean  surface. 

Is  such  a  man  in  a  condition  to  exercise  the  right  of 
suffrage  side  by  side  with  the  free-born,  and  free-cultured 
intelligence  ?  Should  the  vote  of  such  a  man  be  permitted 
to  neutralize  and  render  nugatory  the  vote  of  the  most 
enlightened  mind  in  the  nation  ?  Such  is  its  effect.  I  leave 
common  sense  to  answer  the  question. 

But  the  man  does  not  always  remain  thus  ?  No.  Let  us 
pass  to  the  next  transition.  The  tablets  of  his  mind  are 
undergoing  a  further  change.  The  attrition  of  surrounding 
elements  are  gradually  making  their  mark  upon  them,  oblite 
rating  the  old  impression  only  by  new  excoriations,  .the  one 
commingling  with  the  other  without  order,  and  the  whole 
presenting  an  unintelligible  mass  of  cross  hatchings,  etchings, 
lines,  and  interlines.  The  old  memories  are  imperfectly  hidden 
while  yet  the  new  impressions  are  equally  indistinct.  The 
man  realizes  his  new  position  without  comprehending  its 
moral.  He  experiences  an  awkward  relief  from  time-honored 
restraint.  He  perceives  that  he  has  a  right  to  speak  his 
mind,  and  he  does  so,  freely  ;  giving  off,  like  a  blurred  copper 
plate,  the  confused  impressions  of  the  matrix.  He  talks  of 
democracy  like  a  parrot,  and  seasons  his  essays  of  partisan 
devotion,  with  reminiscences  of  the  "ould  counthry,"  the 
"  Faderland,"  or  "  La  Belle  France."  St.  Patrick  and  General 


DANGERS    FROM    POPULAR   IGNORANCE.  131 

Jackson  are  synonymous;  the  "Marseillaise"  mingles  with 
the  homespun  air  of  "Yankee  Doodle;"  Washington  and 
Victoria  are  blended  in  a  halo  around  the  brim  of  the  same 
•wine-cup,  and  beer-bibing  infidelity  pours  out  its  boisterous 
libations  over  the  quiet  surface  of  an  American,  Christian 
Sabbath.  The  unshackled  mind  asserts  its  crude  estimate  of 
freedom,  and  degenerates  into  licentiousness.  The  flood 
gates  of  passions  and  desires,  long  pent  up,  and  closed  by 
unnatural  restraints,  are  now  thrown  apart,  and  the  individual, 
having  conceived  a  false  estimate  of  liberty,  rushes  forth  to 
the  opposite  extreme.  Is  this  man  qualified  to  perform 
rationally  the  duties  of  an  American  citizen  ?  Is  he  fit  to 
exercise  that  delicate  and  momentous  trust,  the  power  of  the 
suffrage,  and  to  choose  men  to  make  laws  for  a  well-governed 
community  ?  The.  use  of  the  ballot  presupposes  illustration, 
a  clear  perception  of  moral  right  and  wrong,  an  understand 
ing  of  the  governing  principle  of  the  nation  in  which  it  is 
employed,  a  stern  political  integrity,  and,  above  all,  an  una 
dulterated  and  inflexible  patriotism.  In  a  political  point  of 
view,  this  man  possesses  not  one  of  these  qualifications. 

We  might  pursue  this  character  in  illustration  of  the  quali 
ties  of  the  suffrage,  until  we  find  it  personifying  the  adage  of 
"  a  beggar  on  horseback,"  or  the  slave  with  a  whip  in  his 
hand — the  most  unscrupulous  and  despotic  masters  being 
those  who,  through  the  freaks  of  fortune,  have  been  raised 
to  authority  from  beneath  the  hand  of  oppression.  But  it  is 
needless.  The  truth  and  the  force  of  my  illustration  will  be 
recognized  and  inwardly  confessed,  even  by  those  who  have 
most  cultivated  and  forced  the  growth  of  an  alien  vote  in  the 


132 


A    DEFENCE    OF  'THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 


land— those  who  have  hastened  the  process  of  naturalization, 
and  then  dragged  their  uncomprehending  victims  by  thou 
sands  to  the  polls,  and  through  their  unmeaning  votes  made 
null  and  void  the  legitimate  judgment  of  the  people!  The 
spirits  who,  for  years  past,  have  clustered  around  the  council 
fires  of  « the  old  wigwam,"  can  attest,  if  they  will,  the  frauds 
committed  upon  our  laws,  and  the  outrages  inflicted  on  the 
popular  sovereignty  and  the  popular  right,  by  the  falsehoods 
and  perjuries  practised  under  their  sanction,  upon  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  ballot-box. 

Viewed  in  the  abstract,  popular  suffrage  is  not  the  peculiar 
adjunct  of  liberty.  It  may  be  employed  as  the  aagis  of  free 
dom,  or  the  weapon  of  the  despot ;  or  it  may  become  itself  a 
despotism,  trampling  upon  the  rights  of  a  minority.  What 
despotism  more  positive  than  the  ostracism  of  democratic 
Athens,  where  the  unthinking  and  ignorant  populace  voted 
into  exile  their  most  virtuous  citizens  and  benefactors,  for  no 
other  crime  than  their  wealth  and  talents  ?  What  has  been 
done  before,  may  be  done  again,  wherever  ignorance,  jea 
lousy,  prejudice,  superstition,  or  bigotry  point  the  way. 

Classes  have  ere  now  been  arrayed  against  classes ;  the  poor 
against  the  rich,  the  rich  against  the  poor ;  the  evil  against 
the  good,  until  the  very  virtues  of  men  have  been  made  a 
justifiable  cause  of  popular  hatred,  and  popular  outrage  upon 
the  persons  of  their  possessors. 

The  suffrage,  then,  is  not  exempt  from  the  necessity  of  a 
careful  surveillance.  It  will  bear  watching.  It  is  the  shield 
of  liberty  only  where  a  just  equilibrium  exists  in  the  popular 
mind ;  where  intelligence,  justice,  and  morality  go  hand  in 


DANGERS    FROM    POPULAR    IGNORANCE.  133 

hand,   and  where   an   unequivocal   patriotism   pervades   the 
masses  of  the  people. 

When  Louis  Kossutli  was  in  New  York,  a  body  of  malcon 
tent  foreigners,  styling  themselves  "  The  Industrial  Congress,'' 
determined  to  be  in  the  fashion  of  the  time,  and  present  an 
address  to  the  distinguished  Hungarian.  These  men,  who 
were  mostly  of  the  working  class,  but  unable  to  appreciate 
the  blessings  of  true  and  rational  liberty,  exhibited  their  love 
of  industry  by  quitting  their  shops,  and  in  an  organized  body 
discussing,  for  weeks  together,  the  imperfections  of  the  Ameri 
can  system  of  government.  In  their  address  to  Kossuth, 
they  made  use  of  the  following  language  : 

• 

"Warm  and  devout,  however,  as  our  welcome  is,  we  are  pained  to 
confess  that  freedom,  as  yet,  exists  but  technically  with  ourselves. 

"  We  are  free,  but  only  free  to  improve  the  privileges  bequeathed 
to  us  by  our  sires,  through  popular  opinion  and  the  ballot  box." 

In  reply  to  this,  Kossuth  rebuked  them,  uttering  one  of  the  • 
finest  sentiments  that  ever  fell  from  his  eloquent  lips. 

"  I  believe,"  said  he,  "  every  nation  has  got  all  it  can  desire 
when,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  it  has  got  freedom  and  the 
faculty  to  be  master  of  its  own  fate ;  and  if  a  nation  has 
obtained  this  faculty  to  be  master  of  its  own  fate,  but  has  not 
the  understanding,  nor  the  will,  nor  the  resolution  to  become 
happy,  why,  then,  it  deserves  to  be  not  happy,  and  it  is  noi 
for  a  stranger  to  meddle  in  its  affairs." 

There  is  a  fund  of  wisdom  and  a  volume  of  truth  in  this 
little  paragraph.  This  fact  will  be  painfully  manifested  if  the 


134       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

people  of  the  United  States  relinquish  into  the  hands  of  the 
stranger  the  freedom  and  the  faculty  which  they  now  possess 
to  be  the  masters  of  their  fate.  The  suffrage  is  too  sacred, 
and  too  delicate  a  faculty,  to  be  permitted  to  pass  from  them 
into  the  hands  of  those  who  cannot  appreciate  gee  nine  free 
dom,  nor  distinguish  between  liberty  and  licentiousness. 


NATURALIZATION ITS    NATURE.  135 


CHAPTER     XII. 

NATURALIZATION — ITS   NATURE,   EFFECTS,    AND   ABUSES. 
"You  may  adopt  a  child,  but  he  will  not  transmit  your  likeness." 

THE  word  naturalization  may  be  appropriately  called  a  misno 
mer,  because  the  process  of  naturalization  is  one  of  the  most 
unnatural  of  all  proceedings.     You  may,  indeed,  invest  an 
alien  with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  native  citizen,  or 
subject,  but  you  cannot  invest  him  with  the  home  sentiment 
and  feeling  of  the  native.     You  cannot  make  him  natural  to 
the  soil,  institutions,  customs,  or  government,  or  fuse  into  his 
mind  the  patriotic  sentiment  of  those  born  on  the  soil,  and 
reared    under    its    institutions,   customs,    and    government. 
Patriotism  is  love  of  one's  own  country;  that  is,  the  country 
of  birth,  and  the  man  who  could  coldly  renounce  that  natural 
allegiance  to  his  home,  is  not  the  man  who  ought  to  be 
trusted  in  his  professions  of  fealty  in  any  other  country.     If 
he  is  false  in  his  sympathies  to  the  land  that  gave  him  birth, 
his  professions  of  fealty  to  another  land,  would  doubtless  be 
prompted    solely  by  selfish   motives,   and   we   have   strong 
grounds  to  believe  him  unreliable  in  his  professions  to  loyalty. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  his  heart  and  sentiments  remain  true 


136  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

to  his  natural  instincts,  while  yet  he  forswears  those  instincts, 
and  renounces  all  attachment,  association,  or  allegiance  to  his 
native  land,  his  trustworthiness  is  still  in  doubt,  because,  in 
making  the  oath  of  allegiance,  there  is  a  mental  reservation, 
not  palpable,  perhaps,  at  the  time,  even  to  his  own  percep 
tion,  but  liable  to  development  through  the  pressure  of  after 
circumstances.  You  may  engraft  a  twig  of  the  russet  upon 
the  tree  of  the  golden  pippin;  yet  the  twig,  while  it  sucks 
subsistence  from  the  pippin,  will  bear  only  russets. 

You  may  pass  a  man  through  the  formality  of  an 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  yet  he  may  not  understand  a  thou 
sandth  part  of  the  stupendous  purport  of  that  oath.  Ask  an 
Irishman  if  he  is  willing  to  join  an  invading  army,  land  on 
the  soil  of  the  Shamrock,  shoot  down  his  own  countrymen, 
Catholics,  Protestants,  and  all,  burn  their  cabins,  silence  the 
harp,  and  spread  desolation  over  the  "Green  Isle"  of  his 
birth,  at  the  command  of  America,  and  he  will  understand 
you.  And  his  reply,  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  every  hun 
dred,  would  be  precisely  what  it  ought  to  be,  a  loud,  sonorous, 
indignant  No  !  That  would  evince  true  patriotism,  true  love 
of  country.  Yet,  when  he  takes  the  formal  oath  of  alle 
giance  to  the  United  States,  he  promises  to  do  all  this. 

The  same  rule  applies  to  all  men  of  all  nations.  The 
Englishman,  proud  of  his  national  ancestry  and  achievements, 
his  home  customs,  and  even  the  lineal  pageantry  of  royalty, 
and  the  grandeur  of  aristocracy,  still  loves  his  queen,  find  him 
where  you  will,  and  realizes  nothing  abroad  that  will  compare 
with  the  productions  of  his  own  island  home.  Would  he 
coolly  and  deliberately  swear  to  enter  the  heart  of  that  home, 


THE  IIOML:  SENTIMENT  PREVAILS.  137 

sword  in  hand,  at  tlie  demand  of  any  nation  on  earth  ?  No. 
Yet  when  he  places  his  hand  upon  the  Holy  Testaments,  and 
the  cold  conventional  oath  of  allegiance  to  another  fovern- 
ment  trembles  upon  his  lips,  he  swears  to  do  this  thing  !  Can 
he  mean  it  in  his  heart?  By  no  means.  The  oath  is  a 
mockery  to  the  soul ! 

But  we  have  something  more  than  mere  speculative  and 
hypothetical  authority  for  this  declaration.  The  sentiment 
of  real  patriotism  is  demonstrated  in  a  thousand  forms.  We 
see  it  in  the  brightening  eye,  we  hear  it  in  the  joyous  laugh 
of  the  emigrant,  when  he  hears  "good  news"  from 
home.  The  sigh  of  the  exile  is  a  mournful  tribute 
to  it,  and  the  gush  of  honorable  pride  which  swells 
in  the  bosom  of  the  wanderer  when  lie  hears  of  some  new 
record  on  the  tablet  of  his  country's  glory,  attests  the  ever 
living  flame  that  is  within.  We  behold  it  in  that  fraternal 
instinct  which  draws  countrymen  to  countrymen  as  they 
meet,  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives,  in  a  strange  land.  It  is 
witnessed  in  the  gathering  of  new  communities  of  one  people 
in  the  land  of  adoption ;  in  their  reverence  of  early  customs 
and  habits,  and  especially  is  it  presented  to  our  notice  in  the 
organization  of  benevolent,  political,  and  other  societies,  by 
persons  of  the  same  country.  In  the  gatherings  of  these 
societies,  their  members  enjoy  an  uninterrupted  interchange 
of  the  old  national  sentiment.  The  present  is  forgotten  in 
their  dreams  of  the  past ;  the  home  of  their  adoption  is  lost 
in  the  cloud  of  patriotic  reminiscences,  which  cluster  around 
the  homes  they  have  left,  and  too  often,  perhaps,  the 
attachments  thus  recalled  are  permitted  to  burst  forth  like 


138  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

a  smothered  flame,  consuming  and  obliterating  their  oath- 
bound  fealty  of  adoption. 

The  St.  George  Society,  an  incorporation  of  English  gen 
tlemen,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  have  kindly  placed  the 
proof  of  my  statement  on  the  record.  At  the  anniversary 
gathering  of  that  association  in  1852,  the  following  occurrence 
took  place.  I  repeat  the  account  precisely  as  I  find  it 
reported  in  the  New  York  journals  of  that  day.  After  the 
usual  dinner  ceremonies  of  such  occasions, 

"  The  president  gave  the  second  toast,  prefacing  it  with  a  few 
remarks.  He  would  beg  to  call  attention  to  the  portrait  of  her  gra 
cious  majesty.  Queen  Victoria,  now  ornamenting  their  walls.  Some 
five  or  six  years  ago  it  was  determined  that  the  society  should  pro 
cure  a  portrait  of  her  majesty,  and  he  would  inform  them  what  was 
done  in  the  matter.  He  then  read  the  following  communication  on 
the  subject :' 

To  the  Queen's  most  excellent  Majesty. 

"MAY   IT   PLEASE   YOUR  MAJESTY: 

"  We,  your  majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects,  a  committee 
duly  appointed  by  the  St.  George's  Society  of  the  State  of  JYeu> 
York,  a  corporate  body,  formed  for  the  relief  and  support  of  our 
countrymen  who  may  be  in  distress  within  this  State,  humbly  beg 
leave  to  tender  to  your  majesty,  in  the  name  of  our  society,  our  most 
grateful  acknowledgments  for  the  high  mark  of  favor  which  your 
majesty  has  been  so  graciously  pleased  to  confer  upon  us,  in  permit 
ting  a  copy  of  the  portrait  of  your  majesty,  by  Winterhalter,  to  be 
made  for  our  society.  This  signal  proof  of  the  benevolent  regard 
which  your  majesty  has  condescended  to  entertain  for  a  body  of  your 
majesty's  subjects,  who,  though  removed  from  the  immediate  sphere 
of  your  majesty's  beneficent  rule,  and  the  lustre  of  your  majesty's 
bright  example,  yield  to  none  in  devotion  to  your  majesty,  and  to 


THE    HOME    SENTIMENT    PREVAILS.  139 

your  majesty's  illustrious  family,  will  be  regarded  with  the  senti 
ments  which  so  gracious  an  act  must  call  forth.  In  venturing,  there 
fore,  to  intrude  upon  your  majesty  with  this  expression  of  their 
gratitude,  the  committee  beg  to  assure  your  majesty  that  the 
members  of  their  society,  though  far  from  the  land  of  their  fathers 
and  of  their  love,  can  never  cease  to  think  of  it  with  tenderness,  and 
that  the  prayers  which  they  offer  to  God  from  their  home  in  this 
friendly  republic,  for  the  long  continuance  of  your  majesty's  health 
and  prosperity,  flow  from  hearts  as  loyal,  and  are  uttered  by  lips  as 
true,  as  can  be  found  in  any  part  of  your  majesty's  almost  boundless 
dominions.'7 

This  missive  of  superlative  loyalty  to  the  sovereign  of  Eng 
land,  was  uttered  by  and  on  behalf  of  men  who  had  taken 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
renounced  all  allegiance  to  every  other  prince,  potentate,  and 
government,  and  especially  to  this  same  sovereign  and  gov 
ernment  of  Great  Britain !  This  fully  sustains  the  hypothesis 
that  men  are  not  to  be  sworn  out  of  their  natural  allegiance 
and  affections.  It  evinces  an  irrepressible  fidelity,  not  only 
to  the  home  of  childhood,  but  also  to  the  government  and 
institutions  of  the  land  of  nativity.  It  is  patriotism  in  all  the 
essentials  of  that  sentiment,  and  therefore  beyond  the  reach  of 
censure  or  reproach.  The  error  by  which  men  swear  an  alle 
giance  which  they  cannot  give,  lies  not  in  the  individual,  but 
in  the  system  itself.  That  system  is  a  moral  fraud — a  subter 
fuge  by  which  men  are  inveigled  through  the  promptings  of 
personal  interest,  to  compromise  their  noblest  instincts. 
Could  not  a  system  be  devised  that  would  protect  alike  the 
individual  interest  of  the  alien,  and  the  interests  of  the  State, 
without  demanding  this  unnatural  sacrifice  ? 


140  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

Laws  of  naturalization  must  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a 
system  of  contracts,  by  which  the  contracting  parties  agree 
to  render  an  -equivalent  for  services  rendered.  Upon  the 
understood  and  recognized  principles  of  international  law,  an 
alien  possesses  no  intrinsic  rights  in  the  land  where  he  is  a 
resident,  beyond  that  of  protection  for  his  person,  and  this 
accrues  under  the  common  law  of  humanity :  and  in  return 
for  this  protection  he  is  required  to  defend  with  his  person, 
and  sustain  with  his  means,  the  government  which  gives  him 
shelter. 

The  system  of  naturalization  was  created  for  the  double 
purpose  of  affording  to  the  alien  increased  privileges,  and 
adding  to  the  resources  of  the  State  by  binding  the  alien 
more    closely    to     its     interests.      Thus,    its    intention     is 
both  politic  and  humane.     The  system  is  calculated,  tmdei 
some   circumstances,   to  give  strength   to   the   government 
especially  in  its  infancy,  and  at  the  same  time  afford  desirable 
facilities   and   a   fixed   protection   to    those    who,  from  anj 
cause,  'may    have    cast   their   lot   in    a   land   of   strangers 
These   objects   would,   however,    be   as   completely  secured 
without  violence  to  the  sentiments  of  the  alien,  and  with 
safety  to  the  State,  by  the  adoption  of  a  system  of  affiliation, 
instead  of  that  wliich  is  called  naturalization.     A  system  tha< 
would  identify  the  respectable  resident  immigrant  with  the 
social  family,  but  not  with  the  political  family  of  the  country 
and  afford  to  him  all  the  advantages  of  citizenship,  excep 
the  right  to  take  part  in  the  government,  would  satisfy  al 
the  requirements  of  humanity  and   hospitality,  and   relieve 
the  State  from  all  the  dario-ers  of  internal  foreign  influence. 


NATURALIZATION    IS    A    CONTRACT.  141 

In  order  to  complete  the  contract  of  naturalization  two 
pre-requisites  exist,  and  two  results  are  contemplated  in  its 
consummation.  The  first  pre-requisite  is,  that  the  individual 
shall  have  left  the  land  of  his  nativity,  and  alienated  himself 
utterly  and  for  ever  from  its  government,  binding  himself, 
at  the  same  time,  politically  and  socially,  to  the  country  that 
receives  him  as  its  citizen  or  subject,  to  adopt  it  as  his  own, 
to  obey  its  laws,  and  to  defend  it  against  all  other  govern 
ments,  but  especially  against  the  government  and  country 
of  his  former  fealty ;  and  second,  on  these  conditions  the 
government  that  receives  him  must  have  made  solemn  pro 
mise  to  shelter  and  protect  him  in  his  person  and  property 
as  one  of  its  own,  and  to  extend  to  him  certain  of  the  polL 
litical  privileges,  and  the  social  immunities  enjoyed  by  its 
natural  bom  citizens  or  subjects. 

These  are  the  pre-requisites  of  the  condition  of  naturali 
zation ;  the  results  contemplated  are  therefore  —  first,  to 
strengthen  and  enhance  the  moral  and  physical  resources  of 
the  government,  and  second,  to  improve  the  condition  and 
secure  the  safety  of  the  individual. 

The  government,  then,  is  the  first  contracting  party,  and  it 
remains  for  it  to  say  what  the  terms  of  naturalization  shall  be 
— what  amount  of  concession  shall  be  made  to  the  individual, 
if  any,  or  whether  it  will  receive  him  as  a  citizen  or  not,  on 
any  terms  ;  because  the  government  is  under  no  moral  or 
legal  obligation  so  to  receive  him  unless  the  interest  of  the 
country  will  be  enhanced  thereby.  With  the  government,  it 
is  a  question  of  mere  policy,  with  the  individual  it  is  a  matter 
of  safety  and  direct  personal  interest. 


142       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

The  contract  of  naturalization,  then,  is  solely  of  a  mercen 
ary  character.  It  is  a  bargain  made  for  value  received,  and 
it  involves  no  more  of  sentiment  than  the  purchase  and  sale 
of  a  house  or  a  horse.  The  whole  question  of  humanity  and 
primitive  right  is  settled  in  the  normal  relationship  of  resident 
and  country,  in  which  connection  the  resident  demands  and 
receives  from  the  country  projection  to  his  person.  All 
beyond  that  is  purely  conventional. 

The  government  of  a  nation  is  intrinsically  the  trustee  of 
its  own  people.  It  is  the  custodian  of  the  public  safety,  the 
public  peace,  the  public  prosperity  and  honor.  To  watch 
over  and  guard  these  interests  is  its  sole  duty  and  respon 
sibility,  and  it  is  bound  to  ward  off  and  turn  aside  any  and 
every  influence  that  is  calculated  to  impair  them.  If,  there 
fore,  it  shall  at  any  time  appear  that  the  naturalization  of 
aliens  is  in  whole,  or  measurably,  detrimental  to  those  inte 
rests,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  government  to  alter  and 
amend  its  terms  of  naturalization,  and,  if  deemed  necessary, 
to  abolish  them  altogether. 

As  the  government  possesses  the  sole  power  of  fixing  the 
terms  of  naturalization,  it  is  fair  to  infer  that  those  terms  will 
be  so  framed  as  to  ensure  an  advantage  to  the  state,  or  that 
the  state  shall  not  give  to  the  alien  more  than  an  equivalent 
for  what  it  is  to  receive  from  him  in  return.  The  principle 
is  precisely  the  same  as  that  where  a  man  of  business  takes 
into  his  establishment  a  workman,  who  is  to  perform  certain 
duties  at  a  stipulated  price,  and  as  an  employer  would  be 
accounted  a  bad  manager  who  would  agree  to  pay  to  the 
employed  more  than  he  could  earn,  so  that  government  must 


NATURALIZATION    ADAPTED    TO    CIRCUMSTANCES.         143 

be  deemed  incompetent,  or  unfaithful  to  its  trust,  which  would 
grant  to  the  alien  advantages  superior  to  those  required  of,  or 
desirable  from  him  to  the  state.  Thus,  according  to  circum 
stances,  the  terms  of  naturalization  vary  essentially  with  dif 
ferent  governments,  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
being  the  only  one  of  any  importance  on  earth,  which  makes 
its  contract  entirely  favorable  to  the  subordinate  party. 

The  privileges  granted  by  Russia,  and  most  of  the  northern 
European  powers  to  their  naturalized  subjects,  extend  but  lit 
tle  beyond  those  enjoyed  by  every  foreign  resident  in  the 
United  States,  viz.  protection  in  person  and  property  to  the 
same  extent  that  the  person  and  property  of  their  natural 
subjects  are  protected.  In  the  Turkish  empire  the  naturalized 
subject  is  required  to  renounce  not  only  his  country,  but  his 
religion — and  after  this,  his  advantages  are  but  nominal — he 
has  no  political  power  or  rights  whatever,  except  so  far  as  the 
civil  relates  to  the  military. 

England,  perhaps,  comes  nearest  to  an  equitable  distribu 
tion  of  relative  advantages  between  the  state  and  the  naturali 
zed  subjects.  She  concedes  to  the  person  naturalized,  all  the 
minor  immunities  of  her  natural  subjects,  together  with  the 
right  of  suffrage  based  on  a  possession  of  freehold  property, 
and  the  right  to  hold  subordinate,  or  local  offices,  if  he  can 
get  them — a  contingency  which  seldom  occurs.  He  cannot, 
in  any  case,  hold  a  legislative  office,  or  a  seat  in  the  privy 
council.  Thus  the  state  keeps  within  her  own  hands  the 
entire  duties  and  control  of  its  own  government ;  the  English 
governing  England. 

Before  the  act  of  naturalization  can  be  consummated  under 


144         .          A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

the  British  law,  the  applicant  is  required  to  send  to  the  home 
secretary  a  memorial,  praying  that  a  certificate  of  naturaliza 
tion,  may  be  granted  to  him.  This  memorial  must  set  forth 
the  name,  age,  and  profession  of  the  applicant,  whether  he  is 
married,  or  single,  if  he  has  any  children,  or  not,  of  what 
friendly  state  he  is  a  native,  and  if  he  intends  to  continue 
and  reside  in  the  United  Kingdom.  This  memorial  must 
then  be  substantiated  by  an  affidavit  of  the  petitioner,  and 
the  declaration  of  four  householders  of  good  repute,  affirming 
his  repeatability  and  loyalty.  The  cost  to  the  applicant  is 
about  thirty  dollars  of  our  currency. 

The  United  States,  in  the  early  history  of  their  government 
md  nationality,  adopted  a  more  liberal  policy,  a  policy  cor- 
esponding  with  the  necessities  of  an  infant  nation.  The  ter- 
•itory  of  the  new  government  was  vast  and  fertile,  and  its 
Copulation  comparatively  trifling,  and  utterly  inadequate  to 
ihe  natural  resources  of  its  domain,  and  the  requirements  of 
d  young,  but  vigorous  independency.  Under  such  circum 
stances,  it  was  a  wise  stroke  of  policy  to  encourage  a  healthy 
immigration,  and  the  most  liberal  inducements  were  offered. 
The  naturalization  law  first  adopted  by  the  American  Con 
gress  in  1790  required  only  two  years'  residence  in  the  United 
States  in  order  to  qualify  an  alien  to  take  the  oath  of  alle 
giance,  and  by  taking  that  oath  he  became  at  once  invested 
with  all  the  prerogatives,  social  and  political,  of  a  natural 
born  citizen,  with  the  single  exception,  that  he  was  not  made 
eligible  to  the  office  of  President,  or  Vice  President  of  the 
Republic.  The  primary  effect  of  this  law  was  rapid  immigra 
tion  from  the  most  valuable  classes  of  Europeans ;  men,  who 


JEFFERSON'S  OPINION.  145 

brought  with  them  respectability,  intellect,  industry,  an*  capi 
tal,  and  whose  presence  was  an  immediate  and  valuable 
acquisition  to  the  morale  and  the  materiel  of  the  country. 

But  this  result  was  succeeded  by  an  inordinate  ambition  on 
the  part  of  the  newly-created  citizens,  to  reach  the  honors 
and  emoluments  of  public  office,  and  to  take  a  leading  part  in 
conducting  the  public  policy  of  the  country.  Such  a  disposi 
tion,  on  the  part  of  the  adopted  citizens,  although  not  antici 
pated  by  the  framers  of  the  law,  was,  nevertheless,  predicated 
upon  a  distinct  right ;  a  right  guaranteed  by  the  contract  of 
naturalization,  and  as  it  soon  became  evident  that  under  the 
law  as  it  then  stood,  Europeans  wene  converted  into  active 
and  influential  American  politicians,  before  they  could  possi 
bly  become  Americanized  or  perform  the  functions  of  citizens 
understandingly,  the  act  was  so  far  altered  in  1795  as  to  fix 
the  term  of  probationary  residence  at  five  years  instead  of 
two.  The  privileges  of  the  naturalized  citizen  remained, 
however,  the  same. 

But  even  this  term  of.  probation,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  vast  political  influence  bestowed  on  foreigners  by  the  act 
of  naturalization,  was  at  the  time  regarded  by  many  states 
men  as  being  too  short  to  qualify  the  alien  for  a  safe  exercise  of 
the  delicate  responsibility  of  the  suffrage,  and  a  participation 
in  the  affairs  of  a  government,  the  very  antipodes  of  all  their 
pre-established  ideas  of  state  policy.  Thomas  Jefferson  enter 
tained  a  peculiar  distrust  in  the  system.  He  noticed  the 
avidity  with  which  the  adopted  citizens  seized  on  the  political 
privileges  accorded  to  them  under  it,  and  apprehensive  of 
disastrous  results,  which,  to  his  far-seeing  mind,  appeared  to 


146  A   DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

liovef  over  a  policy  so  unusual,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  express 
his  fears,  and  urge  a  still  further  amendment  to  the  law  of 
naturalization.  He  perceived  an  an ti- republican  sentiment, 
and  an  anti-American  influence  gradually  but  steadily,  though 
to  the  common  mind  imperceptibly,  fusing  themselves  into 
the  new  system,  and  even  at  that  early  day  he  seemed  to 
entertain  a  prophetic  dread  that  his  country  was  nursing  in 
its  own  bosom  a  dangerous  and  insidious  viper.  "  I  hope," 
said  Jefferson,  "  we  may  find  some  means  in  the  future,  of 
shielding  ourselves  from  foreign  influence,  political,  commer 
cial,  or  in  whatever  form  attempted.  I  can  scarcely  withhold 
myself  from  joining  in  the  wish  of  Silas  Dean,  'that  there 
were  an  ocean  of  fire  between  this  and  the  Old  World.'  " 

An  expression  like  this  exhibits  the  intensity  of  his  dread 
for  the  results  of  a  system  of  naturalization  so  liberal  to  the 
alien  as  the  one  then  in  force;  and  in  1798,  while  president 
of  the  senate,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  passage  of  a  fur 
ther  amendment,  changing  the  probationary  term  to  fourteen 
years  instead  of  Jive.  This  act  contained,  also,  other  restric 
tions  intended  to  guard  against  fraudulent  evasions  of  its  pro 
visions;  but  in  1802  the  whole  act  was  repealed,  and  a  new 
act,  restoring  the  five  years'  probation,  was  enacted  in  its 
stead.  Two  years  after,  viz.  in  1804,  this  last  act  was  in 
turn  repealed,  but  was  re-enacted  in  1816,  and  continued  in 
force  until  1828,  when,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  election  of  a 
partisan  candidate  for  the  presidency,  the  law  was  modified 
by  repealing  the  clauses  which  required  the  alien  to  obtain 
certificates  of  registration,  and  the  declaration  of  intention. 
Thus,  our  laws  of  naturalization,  which  should  have  been 


ABUSE    OF    THE    LAW    OF    NATURALIZATION.  147 

made  more  stringent  as  the  necessity  for  immigration  dimin 
ished,  have,  on  the  contrary,  be.en  relaxed,  and  the  induce 
ments  to  immigration  increased.     Citizenship  in  the  United 
States,  has  by  this  process  been  rendered  so  facile  and  cheap, 
that  political  parties  have  been  able  to  enter  largely  and 
safely  into  the  business  of  speculating  in  voters.     They  per 
suade  men  by   thousands   to   become  naturalized,  who  are 
themselves  unconscious  of  any  such  right,  or  of  the  use  to  be 
made  of  it.     They  pay  the  paltry  expense  of  the  process  for 
men  who  have  no  money  of  their  own,  and  especially  none  to 
expend  in  what  appears  to  them  an  unmeaning  ceremony ; 
and  when  they  are  found  to  hesitate  about  accepting  citizen 
ship  even  on  these  terms,  the  persevering  demagogues  urge, 
coax,  and  even  coerce  them,  and  lead  them  listlessly  before 
the  proper  authorities  (and  sometimes  improper  authorities, 
as,  for  example,  the   «  Naturalization  Committee,"  at  Tam 
many  Hall,  or   the  Broadway  House)  and  there  the  poor 
wondering  aliens  take  an  unmeaning  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  !     Even  the  judges  of  some  of  our  courts  have 
not  hesitated  to  lend  their  offices  to  this  system  of  arrant 
knavery,  and  to  attend,  either  in  person  or  by  their  clerks, 
the   sessions  of  these  vile   committees.*    .  The   process   of 

*  On  this  subject,  Judge  Dean  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York 
says: 

"  There  are,  probably,  no  laws  of  a  public  character  so  imperfectly  understood 
and  GO  badly  administered  as  those  for  the  naturalization  of  foreigners." 
********* 

"  It  was  never  intended  by  those  who  enacted  the  act  for  the  naturalization  of 
aliens,  that  persons  who  had  been  transported  for  crime— that  those  who  came 
lover  here  merely  because  Europe  was  too  full  for  them— but  who  retained  their 


148        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

naturalization  (!)  over,  the  ignorant  victims  are  led  directly  to 
the  ballot-box,  the  "  right. ticket"  is  placed  in  their  hands, 
and  under  a  careful  and  oft-repeated  injunction,  "not  to  allow 
any  person  to  take  their  ticket  from  them,  or  to  exchange  it 
for  another,"  they  are  pushed  forward  like  automatons,*  and 
made  TO  VOTE  ! 

This  mode  of  procedure  is  now  common  under  the  present 
naturalization  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  its  demoralizing 
and  denationalizing  effects  are  palpable  to  every  mind  that  is 
not  utterly  blinded  by  the  selfish  instincts  of  the  demagogue. 
The  spirit  of  patriotism  shudders  as  it  contemplates  this  pros 
titution  of  the  sacred  attributes  of  freedom  and  intelligence. 

However  well  the  liberal  policy  of  our  naturalization  laws 
may  have  been  adapted  to  the  necessities  of  the  republic  in 
its  infancy,  it  is  apparent  that  that  policy  is  little  less  than 
suicidal  in  the  present  attitude  and  condition  of  the  United 

loyalty  of  feeling  for  the  monarchies  they  had  left,  should,  because  they  remained 
here  for  the  period  of  five  years,  be  entitled  to  admission  to  citizenship.  The 
intention  was  to  permit  those  who  came  here  from  abroad,  seeking  a  permanent 
home,  who,  by  five  years  of  continuous  residence,  manifested  that  intention,— and 
by  good  behavior  during  all  that  time,  and  an  attachment  to  republican  principles, 
which  could  be  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  court,  had  shown  themselves  worthy 
recipients  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  citizenship,  and  safe  depositories  of 
the  powers  it  confers,  to  be  admitted  to  these  rights  and  the  exercise  of  these 
powers,  by  an  order  entered  in  open  court,  after  an  examination  into  the  facts  of 
each  case,  and  a  judical  decision  upon  the  application — an  examination  which  should 
be  conducted  with  the  same  care,  and  a  decision  which  should  be  made  with  the 
same  deliberation  and  solemnity  as  that  which  should  accompany  every  other  judi 
cal  act.  Those  courts  which,  instead  of  administering  this  law,  have,  by  their 
negligence  and  inattention,  practically  repealed  it,  admitting  thousands  to  the 
rights  of  citizenship  who  want  all  the  requisites  to  entitle  them  to  such  admis 
sion,  have  been  guilty  of  a  gross  violation  of  duty,  and  have  made  the  law  itself 
odious  in  the  public  estimation." 


REASONS    FOR    AMENDING    THE    LAW.  149 

States.  And  as  it  is  the  first  duty  of  government  to  adapt 
its  public  policy  to  its  own  interests,  it  is  plain  that  those 
laws  should  be  modified  as  occasion  suggests,  to  the  exigency 
of  the  time.  This  would  be  the  true  policy  of  the  nation. 
The  individual  policy  of  the  partisan  or  the  demagogue  m&y 
be  the  reverse,  because  the  "  loaves  and  fishes "  depend  for 
the  time  being,  not  upon  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  country,  but 
upon  the  number  of  votes,  that  a  particular  party  or  faction 
may  be  able  to  cast. at  an  election. 

There  exist  many  visible  and  incontrovertible  reasons  why 
the  system  of  naturalization  requires  essential  modifications 
at  the  present  time.  They  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  necessity  for  a  rapid  increase  of  population  has 
passed  away.  The  nation  is  in  perfect  vigor,  both  moral  and 
physical.  •  It  has  reached  an  altitude  of  power  which  requires 
no  adventitious  aid. 

•  2.  The  intellectual  character  of  the  great  mass  of  immi 
grants  who  have,  for  several  years  past,  come  to  the  United 
States  from  foreign  lands,  is  not  adapted  to  the  political 
duties  of  the  citizen,  and  is  liable,  if  vested  with  full  political 
rights,  to  subvert  rather  than  strengthen  our  institutions  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty. 

3.  The    number    of   this    class    of    immigrants    amounts 
(directly  and   indirectly)   to   the   enormous   sum  of  half  a 
million,  annually,  or  nearly  so.     The  immigration  of  a  single 
year  being  sufficient  to  exert  a  perceptible  influence  on  our 
public  policy  through  the  ballot-box. 

4.  This  aggregate  of  the  European  elements  in  our  midst, 
has  already  become  so  great  as  to  demand  for  itself  peculiar 


150       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

political  privileges,  and  arrogantly  to  assume  rights  and 
powers  subversive  of  the  interests  of  the  natural-born  citizens 
of  the  country,  and  dangerous  to  the  national  identity,  both  as 
it  regards  our  civil  and  our  religious  institutions. 

5.  It  is  already  asserted  by  foreign  residents  that  the 
country  is  homogeneous — that  it  has  no  distinct  identity  of 
population,  character  or  interest,  and  hence,  that  the  rights 
of  aliens  are  equal  to  those  of  the  natural-born  citizens. 

6th  and  last ;  whatever  the  natural  or  acquired  rights  of 
foreigners  in  the  United  States  may  be,  they  are  certainly 
unqualified  to  govern  the  American  people,  and  generally 
incapable  of  understanding  the  principles  upon  which  the 
American  Republic  is  constructed. 


MISCONSTRUCTION    OF    RESERVED    POWERS.  151 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

ALIEN  SUFFRAGES— VATTEL  ON  THE  RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES  OF  ALIENS— RESERVED  POWERS 
OF  THE  STATES. 

As  some  of  the  new  States  of  our  Union  have  construed 
the  reserved  power  by  which  the  several  States  are  permitted 
to  establish  the  terms  on  which  its  citizens  may  exercise  the 
right  of  suffrage,  in  a  liberal  sense,  and  under  that  construc 
tion  have  conferred  the  right  of  suffrage  upon  persons  who 
are  not  citizens,  it  is  well  worth  our  while  to  analyze  the 
subject,  and  learn  how  far  such  a  construction  will  bear  the 
constitutional  test,  and  what  may  be  its  ultimate  effect  upon 
the  States  in  which  it  is  practised,  or  upon  the  institutions 
and  policy  of  the  United  States. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  silent  on  the 
abstract  question  of  suffrage ;  hence  to  the  States  is  reserved 
the  power  to  regulate  the  terms  on  which  its  citizens  may 
exercise  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  may 
be  enjoyed.  But  although  the  Constitution  is  silent  on  this 
subject,  it  is  not  silent  on  the  subject  of  naturalization,  which 
involves  the  entire  political  rights  of  residents  who  are  citizens 
'or  subjects  of  a  foreign  power.  By  the  Constitution  the  sole 
power  to  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization  is  vested 


152  A    DEFENCE    OP   THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States ;  and  by  the  present  rule 
adopted  by  that  body,  no  alien  can  become  a  citizen  by  natu 
ralization  until  he  has  resided  at  least  five  years  within  the 
United  states,  or  their  territories ;  nor  until  five  years  after  he 
shall  have  made  a  declaration  under  oath,  of  his  "  bona-fide 
intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
renounce  for  ever  all  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  any  foreign 
prince,  potentate,  state,  or  sovereignty  whatever."  The  first 
question  presented  in  that  examination,  is  therefore  this, 
namely : 

Does  a  subordinate  State,  in  granting  the  right  of  suffrage 
to  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  a  foreign  power,  resident  within 
the  State,  exercise  only  a  reserved  right,  or  does  she  assume  a 
power  delegated  to  the  nation  of  which  she  is  but  a  compo 
nent  State  or  integral  member  ? 

M.  Vattel,  in  his  elaborate  work  on  international  law,  says : 

"  It  belongs  to  the  nation  and  its  rulers,  to  fulfill  the  duties 
of  humanity  towards  strangers  in  everything  that  no  longer 
depends  on  the  liberty  of  individuals" 

He  also  says : 

"It  exclusively  belongs  to  each  nation  to  form  her  own 
judgment — of  what  her  conscience  prescribes  to  her — of  what 
she  can  or  cannot  do — of  what  it  is  proper  or  improper  for 
her  to  do;  and  of  course  it  rests  solely  with  her  to  examine 
and  determine,  whether  she  can  perform  any  office  for  any 
other  nation,  without  neglecting  the  duty  which  she  owes  to 
herself." 

The  same  rule  applies  to  her  intercourse  with  individuals, 
as  well  as  with  nations.  Hence,  while  it  belongs  to  the  nation 


RIGHTS    OF    FOREIGNERS.  153 

to  fulfill  the  duties  of  humanity  to  strangers,  the  nation  is  also 
to  be  the  sole  judge  of  what  she  can  do  for  others,  without 
neglecting  the  duty  which  she  owes  to  herself. 

In  the  United  States  of  America,  the  national  power,  or  the 
national  weakness,  lies  solely  in  the  popular  suffrage.  Upon 
that  suffrage  depend  alike  the  policy,  the  probity,  and 
perhaps  the  very  perpetuity  of  the  nation  itself  in  its  primitive 
form  and  character.  The  first  duty,  therefore,  that  the  nation 
owes  to  itself,  is  to  watch  over  and  control  the  popular 
suffrage,  because,  if  that  is  neglected,  the  nation  may  be 
destroyed.  This,  as  I  understand  it,  is  a  fixed  principle  of 
international  law,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  so  recognized 
when  the  several  States  relinquished  into  the  hands  of  the 
national  government  the  sole  power  to  establish  a  uniform 
rule  of  naturalization.  We  are  now  led  naturally  to,  inquire, 
What  are  the  rights  and  duties  of  aliens,  as  established  by 
the  law  of  nations  ? 

On  this  subject  Vattel  says : 

"  The  inhabitants,  as  distinguished  from  citizens,  are 
foreigners,  who  are  permitted  to  settle  and  stay  in  the  coun 
try.  Bound  to  the  society  by  their  residence,  they  are 
subject  to  the  laws  of  the  State  while  they  reside  in  it ;  and 
they  are  obliged  to  defend  it,  because  it  grants  them  protec 
tion,  though  they  do  not  participate  in  all  the  rights  of 
citizens" 

Now,  the  most  important  right  of  the  citizen  of  the  United 

States  is  the  right  of  suffrage — the  right  to  take  part  in  its 

government  and  policy — the  right  to  choose  its  rulers,  make 

its  laws,  and  direct  its  destiny.     It  can  never  for  a  moment 

7* 


154  A    DEFENCE    OF   THE    AMERICAN    POLICT. 

be  supposed,  then,  that,  by  any  law  regulating  the  intercourse 
of  nations,  so  important  a  right  can  be  claimed  by  the  citi 
zens  or  subjects  of  a  foreign  nation,  who,  according  to  Vattel, 
are  only  permitted  to  reside  in  the  United  States ;  much  less 
can  this  nation  grant  to  them  so  delicate  and  important  a 
•privilege,  without  neglecting  the  most  solemn  duty  which  it 
owes  to  itself;  and  if  the  nation  cannot  grant  that  privilege, 
by  what  rule  may  it  be  granted  by  a  subordinate  State  ? 
"  Foreigners,"  says  Vattel,  "  do  not  participate  in  all  the 
rights  of  citizens."  This  implies  clearly  that  they  do  partici 
pate  in  some  of  the  rights  of  citizens,  but  not  in  others. 
Where,  then,  is  the  discrimination  ?  What  are  and  what  are 
not  their  rights  ?  The  first  quotation,  which  I  have  made 
from  the  highest  authority  on  this  subject,  is  plain,  and  to 
the  point;  the  nation  is  bound  to  the  stranger  in  all  the 
duties  of  humanity ;  it  is  compelled  to  protect  him  in  his 
social  character  and  necessities  ;  to  afford  him  the  opportuni 
ties  of  commerce  with  its  own  citizens ;  to  protect  him  in  his 
person,  his  property,  and  in  his  lawful  endeavors  to  acquire 
property ;  to  watch  over  his  life,  his  liberty,  and  his  pursuit 
of  happiness,  and  he  has  a  right  to  demand  such  protection, 
Here  ends  the  duty  of  the  nation,  and  the  right  of  the  alien. 
The  rights  of  the  citizen,  which,  according  to  Vattel,  are  not 
enjoyed  by  the  foreigner,  are  those  which  pertain  to  the  con 
duct  and  safety  of  the  State,  or,  in  other  words,  they  are 
political  rights,  and  as  the  right  of  suffrage  is  the  highest 
political  franchise  known  to  our  citizens,  that  right  especially 
does  not  belong  to  the  alien.  But,  says  Vattel, 

"  A  nation,  or  sovereign  who  represents  it,  may  grant  to  a 


THE    ALIEN    VOTE    VOID    IN    FACT.  155 

foreigner  the  quality  of  a  citizen,  by  admitting  him  into  the 
POLITICAL  SOCIETY.  This  is  called  naturalization" 

This  principle  sustains  my  last  position,  because  it  declares 
that  until  the  foreigner  is  naturalized,  he  is  not  a  member  of 
the  political  society  of  the  nation,  and,  consequently,  is  inca 
pable  of  exercising  any  political  function  whatever.  He  is 
subject  to  its  laws,  and  obliged  to  defend  it,  because  it  grants 
him  protection,  but  he  does  not  participate  in  the  political 
rights  of  the  citizen,  until  he  has  been  admitted  into  the  poli 
tical  family,  by  the  process  of  naturalization. 

The  conclusion,  therefore,  is,  that  the  unnaturalized  sub 
ject,  or  citizen  of  a  foreign  power,  has  no  innate  right  to 
claim  the  privilege  of  voting,  and  that  no  separate  or  indivi 
dual  State  has  the  legal  right  or  power  to  confer  that  privi 
lege  upon  him.  The  nation,  in  its  intrinsic  power,  may,  it  is 
true,  concede  that  privilege,  provided  it  can  be  done  compa 
tibly  "  with  the  duty  which  she  owes  to  herself,"  but  a  State 
is  not  the  nation,  and  possesses  no  such  power ;  she  cannot 
admit  the  alien  into  the  "  political  society,"  having  relin 
quished  that  power  to  the  nation ;  hence,  the  nation  alone 
can  determine  what  citizen  or  subject  of  a  foreign  power  may 
be  admitted  to  the  privilege  of  the  suffrage  within  her  States 
and  territories.  The  United  States  never  having  granted 
that  franchise  to  those  who  are  aliens,  it  follows  that  every 
vote  given  by  an  alien  is  in  direct  violation  of  the  spirit  and 
the  letter  of  the  national  Constitution  and  laws,  and  therefore 
void;  because, 

1.  By  the  recognized  principles  of  international  law,  an  alien 
possesses  no  political  rights  in  the  country  where  he  resides, 


156       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

2.  The  general  government,  or  nation,  may  alone  confer 
political  rights  upon  the  alien  by  the  formula  of  naturalization. 

3.  Any  subordinate  State  which  confers  the  privilege  of 
political  suffrage-  on  an  alien  usurps  a  prerogative  which  is 
vested  solely  in  the  nation,  and 

4.  The  exercise  of  a  political  privilege  by  an  alien,  without 
having  been  naturalized,  is  an  illegal  act. 

Yet  this  delicate  privilege  has  been,  and  is,  so  conferred 
upon  aliens  in  some  of  the  Western  States.  By  the  Consti 
tution  of  Illinois,  for  example,  all  white  male  inhabitants  above 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having  resided  in  the  State  six 
months  next  preceding  an  election,  have  the  privilege  of  elec 
tors,  and  are  allowed  to  vote  for  all  public  officers,  even  to 
members  of  Congress  and  electors  for  President  of  the  United 
States.  There  is  no  reservation  whatever.  Under  that  Con 
stitution,  the  immigrant  subject  of  Austria,  Russia,  the  Roman 
Pontiff,  or  any  other  despotism  of  Europe,  possesses  and  exer 
cises,  within  seven  months  from  tha  day  that  he  first  sets  his 
foot  on  American  soil,  either  at  New  York  or  New  Ofleans, 
as  potent  a  voice  in  the  choice  of  national  representatives, 
and  in  directing  the  policy  of  the  American  government,  as 
the  most  intelligent  citizen,  who  was  born  and  has  been  reared 
under  our  own  institutions  1  A  result  certainly  never  con 
templated,  either  by  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  or  by  the  original  States,  when  they  relin 
quished  to  the  general  government  the  sole  power  of  naturali 
zation,  or  by  the  Congress  of  the  country,  when  it  declared 
that  an  alien  must  reside  Jive  years  in  the  United  States 
before  he  could  be  eligible  to  become  a  citizen. 


EFFECT  OF  THE  ALIEN  VOTE.  157 

The  only  ostensible,  and  doubtless,  real  motive  for  this 
singular  construction  of  the  Constitution  as  applicable  to  the 
reserved  rights  of  the  several  States,  is,  that  it  offers  induce 
ments  to  immigrants  to  settle  in,  and  populate,  the  tenantless 
lands  of  the  great  interior  ;  a  motive  not  only  plausible,  but 
intrinsically  meritorious,  because,  if  the  United  States  are  to 
become  the  receptacle  of  the  laboring  masses  of  Europe,  cer 
tainly  their  labor  could  not  be  better  employed,  either  as 
relates  to  their  own  interest,  or  the  interests  of  the  country, 
than  in  cultivating  and  developing  the  agricultural  resources 
of  the  wide,  uncultivated  West.  But  whatever  merit  this 
view  of  the  subject  may,  at  first  sight,  present,  it  is  entirely 
absorbed  in  the  vast  and  momentous  results  to  be  appre 
hended  in  the  exercise  of  political  power  by  a  class  of  resi 
dents,  who,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  must  be  incapa 
ble  of  appreciating  the  trust,  or  of  wielding  it  for  the  good  of 
the  State. 

The  subject  is  not  merely  a  local  one,  nor  one  in  which  the 
States  of  the  West  are  alone  concerned.  The  influence  exer 
cised  by  the  unappreciating  alien  voters  of  Illinois,  Ohio,  or 
any  other  State,  is  felt  in  every  State  of  the  Union,  and 
imparts  a  color  to  the  very  policy,  even,  of  the  national  govern 
ment  ;  nay,  it  is  very  plain  to  perceive  that  it  may  actually 
determine  that  policy  through  a  preponderating  influence  or 
balance  of  power  in  the  national  councils ;  and  thus  we  may 
have  forced  upon  the  countiy,  through  the  votes  of  foreign 
subjects,  the  European  intervention  policy  of  a  Kossuth,  the  red 
republican  and  infidel  policy  of  Frencli  and  German  theorists, 
or  the  more  subtle,  and  no  less  dangerous  policy  of  the 


158       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

Romish  despotism.  Those  States,  therefore,  which  retain  this 
irrational  construction  of  what  pertains  to  the  reserved  rights 
of  the  States,  may  perceive  that  others  than  themselves  have 
an  interest  in  the  subject,  as  broad  and  as  abiding  as  their 
own,  and  that  with  this  interest  they  are  vested,  also,  with 
the  right  to  defend  it. 

"When  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  declared  that 
"  the  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Con 
stitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it,  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to 
the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people,"  it  was  certainly 
intended  that  this  provision,  so  eminently  due  to  the  sovereignty 
of  the  States,  should  apply  only  to  the  internal  affairs  of 
individual  States  ;  that,  while  acknowledging  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Constitution  in  all  matters  of  national  or  general 
import,  a  local  domestic  independence  should  still  be  main 
tained  and  reserved  to  the  States  as  separate  and  free  com 
monwealths.  Thus  far,  these  reserved  rights  are  sacred  and 
irrefragable,  but  when  an  individual  State,  in  the  exercise  of 
what  it  deems  its  reserved  rights,  shall  perform  any  act  detri 
mental  to,  or  in  any  way  affecting  the  public  policy  and  inter 
ests  of  other  States,  or  of  the  United  States,  it  transcends  its 
privilege,  and  violates  the  sovereignty  of  other's.  And  this  I 
hold  to  be  the  precise  attitude  of  those  States  who  permit 
the  subjects  or  citizens  of  foreign  princes,  potentates,  or  states, 
to  exercise  the  privilege  of  the  suffrage  within  their  borders. 

But,  apart  from  this  view  of  the  subject,  I  think  it  will  not 
be  difficult  to  show  that  the  act  of  granting  the  suffrage  fran 
chise  to  aliens,  so  far  from  beinor  an  act  of  wisdom,  and  a 

O 

source  of  benefit  to  the  States  which  grant  it,  is,  in  fact,  the 


THE    IMMIGRANT    SEEKS    EMPLOYMENT.  159 

worst  measure  of  policy  that  could  be  adopted  by  them.  In 
the  first  place,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  it  fails  in  its 
ostensible  object.  It  does  not,  in  any  perceptible  degree, 
increase  either  the  population,  the  wealth,  or  the  resources  of 
any  State  that  has  adopted  it.  The  class  of  European  emi 
grants,  from  which  the  new  States  seek  to  derive  a  rapid 
population,  give  no  thought  to  the  political  institutions  of  the 
State  in  which  they  determine  to  settle.  Their  choice  of 
location  is  governed  by  its  physical  adaptation  to  their  wants. 
They  know  no  difference,  they  seek  no  difference,  between 
the  political  institutions  of  the  several  States,  and  naturally 
give  the  preference  to  those  localities  which  afford  the  most 
ready  employment.  They  regard  America  as  a  unit,  and, 
politically,  they  know  no  difference  between  the  .State  of 
Missouri  and  the  State  of  Illinois.  They  seek,  as  I  said  before, 
those  localities  which  afford  the  best  facilities,  and  the  best 
return  for  labor.  In  proof  of  this,  let  us  make  a  comparison  : 
Missouri  does  not  give  the  privilege  of  the  suffrage  to  aliens ; 
Illinois  does  give  the  privilege.  Both  are  Western  States, 
lying  side  by  side,  but  with  the  inducements  to  immigration 
greatly  on  the  side  of  Illinois. 

In  1840,  the  population  of  Missouri  was  -        383,702 

In  1850,  the  population  of  that  State  had  increased  to    -        682,044 

Showing  an  increase  in  ten  years  of     298,342 

In  1840,  the  population  of  Illinois  was  ....  476,183 
In  1850,  the  population  of  that  State  had  increased  to  -  851,470 


Showing  an  increase  in  ten  years  of     375,287 
The  greatest  natural  increase  of  population  by  birth  has 


ICO        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

been  estimated  at  five  per  cent.,  or  equivalent  to  a  double  in 
twenty  years.  At  this  rate,  the  natural  increase  of  popula 
tion  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  during  the  years  mentioned, 
would  have  been  191,851,  which,  taken  from  the  aggregate 
increase  of  298,342,  leaves,  as  the  result  of  immigration,  an 
increase  of  106,491. 

At  the  same  rate,  the  natural  increase  of  population  in  the 
State  of  Illinois  would  have  been  238,091,  which,  taken  from 
the  aggregate  increase  of  375,287,  leaves,  as  the  result  of 
immigration,  an  increase  of  137,196,  being  only  40,705  more 
than  that  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  in  ten  years. 

When  we  take  into  consideration  the  vast  inducements 
offered  to  immigrant  laborers  by  Illinois  over  Missouri,  my 
declaration,  that  the  gratuity  of  the  suffrage  to  aliens  does 
not,  in  any  perceptible  degree,  increase  the  population  of  the 
State,  is  sustained.  These  inducements  are  found  in  the 
following  facts : 

1.  Missouri,  being  a  slave  State,  does  not  so  much  require 
the  labor  of  the  white  immigrant  in  tilling  her  soil.     Illinois, 
being  a  free  State,  the  immigrant  laborer  does  not  find  in  her 
borders  that  source  of  unequal  competition. 

2.  Missouri  has  had  in  progress  no  great  public  works  to 
demand  laborers  from  abroad.     Illinois,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  constructed  her  immense  canal,  and  built  over  two  thou 
sand  miles  of  railroads. 

Here  are  good  and  sufficient  causes  to  account  for  alHhe 
additional  increase  of  population  which  Illinois  has  exhibited 
over  Missouri,  leaving  nothing  as  the  result  of  her  liberal  con 
struction  of  the  principle  of  State  sovereignty.  They  prove, 


LOCAL    EFFECT      OF    THE    ALIEN    VOTJ3.  161 

conclusively,  that  the  immigrant  will  seek  those  localities 
which  afford  the  readiest  means  of  subsistence,  without 
regard  .to  any  political  advantages  .that  may  be  offered.' 
Those  States,  therefore,  who  seek  to  increase  their  population 
by  vesting  aliens  with  extraordinary  political  privileges, 
utterly  fail  in  their  object. 

The  next,  and  most  important  view  of  this  extraordinary 
construction  of  the  principle  of  State  sovereignty,  is  its  pro 
bable  effects  upon  the  ultimate  prosperity  and  character  of 
the  States  who  entertain  it,  and  upon  the  rights  and  happi 
ness  of  their  citizens.  The  first  duty  of  government,  after  the 
se«urity  of  the  people,  is  self-preservation,  because  even  a  bad 
government  is  better  than  none  at  all ;  but  most  especially  is 
this  the  duty  of  a  government  so  happily  constituted  as  ours, 
which  derives  all  its  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned.  Our  government  and  institutions  are  peculiar  to 
themselves ;  there  are  none  other  like  them  on  the  face  of  the 
globe ;  hence,  to  understand  and  appreciate  them,  it  is  neces 
sary  to  be  educated  to  them ;  and,  without  an  understanding 
of  their  construction,  it  is  impossible  to  take  part  intelligently 
in  their  management.  This-  axiom  is  so  well  admitte4  that 
our  own  countrymen,  however  intelligent  they  may  be,  are 
not  permitted  to  exercise  any  political  power  whatever  until 
they  have  lived  twenty-one  years  under  the  workings  of  our 
system.  My  next  proposition  is,  that  the  sole  conservative 
principle  of  the  nation  is  in  the  people,  or  those  who,  by  their 
votes,  form  the  government  out  of  their  own  opinions. 

The  American  people, 'those  born  and  reared  on  American 
soil,  have  but  one  opinion  as  to  the  general  principles  which 


162  A,  DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

embody  our  institutions,  or,  in  other  words,  our  system  of 
government.  They  differ  only  in  measures  of  immediate  or 
local  policy.  Out  of  that  difference,  political  parties  arise,  and 
at  our  elections  we  determine,  by  the  expressed  wish  of  a 
majority  of  the  people,  what  measure,  or  what  course  of  local 
policy  shall  be  adopted ;  but  whatever  it  is,  it  is  sure  to  be  in 
conformity  with  the  general  principles  of  our  government. 
The  intelligence,  the  fidelity,  the  home  sentiment  of  our  coun 
trymen  are  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  such  a  result.  But  what 
guarantee  have  we,  where  the  votes  of  those  bred  under  our 
institutions  are  overborne  or  neutralized  by  the  votes  of  those 
who  regard  our  system  as  not  sufficiently  democratic ;  or 
those  who  deem  it  too  puritanical  in  its  respect  for  the 
Sabbath ;  or  those  who  declare  that  no  government  can  be 
"perfect  unless  it  is  subordinate  to  "the  Church?"  What 
guarantee  have  our  sister  States  of  the  "West,  within  whose 
fruitful  borders  the  tide  of  European  emigration  is  pouring 
like  a  living  flood ;  what  guarantee  have  they  that  their  too 
liberal  constitutions  and  laws  will  not  melt  like  wax,  before 
the  consuming  heat  of  imported  opinions,  and  through  the 
manipulation  of  foreign  voters,  be  remodelled  and  made  to 
assume  new  aspects,  repulsive  to  rational  liberty,  subversive 
of  religion,  and  hostile  to  the  true  interests  of  the  State? 
None  whatever.  The  chances  are  in  favor  of  some  such 
result,  or  at  least,  that  the  American  residents  of  those  States 
will  be  made  to  endure  severe  mortification  growing  out  of 
this  cause.  They  will  find  that  they  have  encouraged  a 
clannish  sentiment  among  their  foreign  population,  directly 
hostile  to  those  of  American  birth  and  sentiment,  and  politi- 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    NATURALIZATION    IGNORED.          163 

cal  demagogues  are  not  wanting  who  will  seize  upon  this 
very  hostility  and  employ  it  to  the  detriment  of  the  best 
interests  of  the  State. 

The  mere  process  of  naturalization,  recognized  and  legal 
ized  as  it  is  by  civilized  nations,  is  a  precautionary  measure, 
and  presupposes  the  existence  of  a  necessity  in  one  of  two 
forms,  perhaps  in  both ;  namely,  first,  in  the  incapacity  of  the 
alien  to  take  part  understandingly  in  affairs  of  the  State,  and 
secondly,  in  the  importance  of  guarding  the  State  against  the 
introduction  of  foreign  and  antagonistic  influences.  By 
granting  the  franchise  of  the  suffrage  to  aliens,  this  principle 
is  ignored,  and  the  State  is  made  to  assume  the  attitude  of  a 
suitor.  The  very  sovereignty  of  which  she  is  so  tenacious  is 
absorbed  in  humiliating  overtures.  Instead  of  making  her 
own  laws,  and  dictating  the  conduct  of  the  stranger  who 
settles  within  her  borders,  she  meekly  resigns  her  most 
dignified  prerogative,  and  solicits  where  she  ought  to 
command. 


164       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

IMMIGRATION — ITS   CHARACTER,  EXTENT,  AND   RESULTS. 

/  <  - 

"  Behold,  therefore,  I  will  bring  strangers  upon  thee,  the  terrible  of  the  nations ; 

and  they  shall  draw  their  swords  against  the  beauty  of  thy  wisdom,  and  they  shall 
defile  thy  brightness." 

EZEKIEL,  chap,  xxviii.,  v.  7. 

So  for  as  the  vital  interests  of  the  United  States  are  con 
cerned,  there  is,  perhaps,  no  feature  of  political  economy 
more  deserving  the  careful  consideration  of  the  statesman 
than  that  of  immigration.  The  distinguishing  features  of  our 
form  of  government,  as  adapted  to  the  happiness  and  prosper 
ity  of  its  individual  citizens — the  diversity  of  climate  and  the 
physical  resources  of  the  United  States,  have  conspired  to 
pour  upon  our  shores  a  vast  and  still  increasing  tide  of  peo 
ple,  fleeing  from  the  oppressions,  restraints,  and  the  burdens 
of  life,  engendered  in  the  overgrown  communities  of  the  Old 
World.  The  loftiest  intelligence  and  the  meanest  intellect— 
the  man  of  wealth,  and  the  starving  millions — the  statesman, 
the  philosopher,  the  idiot,  the  criminal,  and  the  insane,  have 
been  alike  attracted  from  the  scenes  of  their  nativities,  and,  in 
one  common  flood,  have  cast  their  destinies  and  their  opi 
nions,  their  worth  and  their  mendicity,  their  morals  and  their 


OPPOSITE    ELEMENTS    WILL    NOT    HARMONIZE.  165 

vices,  their  superstitions,  their  traditions,  and  their  prejudices, 
upon  the  social  bosom  of  America. 

To  believe  that  a  mass  so  crude  and  incongruous,  so 
remote  from  the  spirit,  the  ideas,  and  the  customs  of  America, 
can  be  made  to  harmonize  readily  with  the  new  element  into 
which  it  is  cast,  is,  to  say  the  least,  unnatural.  It  is  a  belief 
at  war  with  reason  and  common  experience.  As  well  might 
we  hope  to  harmonize  the  tribes  of  the  forest  with  the  tribes 
of  the-  commercial  mart — the  savage  of  Minnesota  with  the 
money-changer  of  Wall  street.  Man  is  the  creature  of  habit 
and  custom,  wherever,  and  under  whatever  auspices  his  lot  is 
cast.  Opinions,  morals,  usages,  are  all  the  fruits  of  training 
and  education,  and  all  these,  by  training  and  education, 
become,  not  impressions  merely,  but  absolute  convictions,  or 
what  is  sometimes  termed  the  second  nature.  To  root  out 
these  convictions,  to  annul  this  second  nature,  to  unlearn  the 
mind  of  what  has  been  learned  through  years  of  precept, 
example,  and  discipline,  is  not  the  work  of  a  day  or  of  a  few 
years.  Where  the  new  element,  thus  thrown  into  a  commu 
nity,  is  trivial  and  unimportant,  and  the  surroundings  of  old 
habits  and  customs  are  few,  the  mind  of  the  possessor  is  more 
easily  reached  and  moulded  to  the  new  associations.  A 
single  savage  may  be  readily  civilized ;  a  whole  tribe  never. 
So  it  is  with  the  immigrant.  A  few  individuals,  scattered 
here  and  there  throughout  a  whole  people  of  opposite  notions 
and  customs,  will  yield,  in  the  absence  of  pervading  reminis 
cences  of  their  past  habits,  readily  and  easily  to  the  notions 
and  customs  which  surround  them.  But  if,  on  the  contrary, 
those  individuals  are  thrown  together,  where  the  opportunities 


166  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

of  an  interchange  of  old  thoughts,  old  memories,  and  old 
associations  are  uninterrupted,  the  home  sentiment  will  wres 
tle  with  the  new  influence;  a  clannish  spirit  will  grow  up 
among  them,  and  the  recollections  of  the  past  will  cluster 
tenaciously,  and  almost  holily,  about  their  hearts. 

This  is  the  condition  of  the  immigrants  from  Europe,  resid 
ing,  and  still  pouring  into  the  United  States,  and  so  palpable 
and  pervading  has  the  foreign  element  become,  that  its  dele 
terious  effects  upon  our  welfare,  as  a  nation,  is  no  longer  a 
problem.  European  immigration  is  unquestionably  the  "  Gre 
cian  horse  "  of  the  American  Republic. 

The  opinion  of  the  father  of  our  country  on  this  subject  is 
worthy  of  being  read  and  re-read.  His  patriotic  and  pro 
phetic  mind,  ever  jealous  of  foreign  influence,  could  not 
remain  silent  on  a  subject  of  such  magnitude,  and  as  early  as 
the  year  1794,  he  expressed  his  views  upon  it  in  the  following 
letter,  addressed  to  the  elder  Adams.  The  letter  is  dated 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  Nov.  17, 1794. 

"  To  John  Adams,  Vice- President  of  the  United  States. 

"•  DEAR  SIR  : 

"  My  opinion  with  respect  to  immigration  is,  that,  except  of  useful 
mechanics,  and  some  particular  descriptions  of  men  and  professions, 

there  is  no  need  of  encouragement. 

"  I  am,  &c.,  i 

"  GEORGE  WASHINGTON." 

Washington  saw  that  the  social  advantages  to  be  derived 
by  the  foreigner  who  should  make  this  country  his  home, 
would  prove  a  sufficient  inducement  to  immigration,  without 


IMMIGRATION    CLASSIFIED.  167 

the  addition  of  those  extraordinary  political  inducements, 
which  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  offered  by  Congress,  and 
through  which  alone  immigration  is  rendered  dangerous  to 
our  institutions. 

The  total  number  of  passengers  arriving  in  the  United 
States,  on  shipboard,  during  the  last  eleven  years  and  one 
quarter,  viz.  from  September  30,  1843,  to  December  31, 
1854,  as  I  find  by  the  record  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  was,  3,174,395 

Of  these,  there  were  citizens  of  the  United 

States,  about,  226  742 

Total  number  of  aliens,  2,947,653 

Three  millions  within  a  fraction  ! 

During  the  first  of  these  eleven  years,  viz.  from  September 
30, 1843,  to  September  30, 1844,  the  number  of  passengers  was 
but  84,764  ;  and  during  the  last,  viz.  from  December  31, 1853, 
to  December  31,  1854,  the  number  of  passengers  amounted 
to  the  enormous  sum  of  460,474!  of  whom  only  32,641 
were  citizens  of  the  United  States.  This  vast  immigration 
does  not  include  the  thousands  who  silently  enter  upon  our 
territory  by  crossing  the  northern  frontier  from  the  Canadas. 
Those,  if  it  were  possible  to  enumerate  them,  would  doubtless 
swell  the  aggregate  to  nearly  or  quite  HALF  A  MILLION  ! 

The  immigrant  aliens  thus  cast  promiscuously  upon  our  soil, 
may  be  divided  into  four  distinct  classes,  thus  : 

1st.       MEN  OF  BUSINESS,  CAPITAL,  AND  RESPECTABILITY,  who 

take  little  or  no  interest  in  politics. 

2d.     RED    REPUBLICANS,    AGRARIANS,    AND    INFIDELS,    a 


168        A  DEFENCE  OP  THE- AMERICAN  POLICY. 

restive,  radical,  discontented  people,  at  war  with  all  govern 
ment. 

3d.  PAPISTS  ;  men  who  will  obey  their  priests  first,  and 
the  law  of  the  land  afterward. 

4th.  PAUPERS  ;  *  men,  women,  and  children,  who  are  sent 
to  us  by  the  •municipalities  of  Europe,  to  be  supported  at  our 
expense.  The  great  proportion  of  this  class  may  be  included, 
also,  in  class  No.  3. 

The  first  of  these  classes  is  comparatively  far  from 
numerous.  They  come  to  America  to  make  fortunes,  with 
the  intention,  generally,  of  returning  and  enjoying  their 
wealth  at  home.  They  care  little  who  governs,  so  long  as 
trade  is  good,  -and  profits  large,  and  if  they  go  through  the 
formula  of  naturalization  at  all,  it  is  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
facilitating  their  means  of  becoming  rich.  Citizenship  affords 
them  an  opportunity  to  purchase,  hold,  and  convey  real 
estate,  and  that  is  all  they  gain  or  care  for  by  the  operation. 
Caring  little  for  the  country  or  its  institutions,  and  less  for  its 
politicians,  they  very  seldom  avail  themselves  of  the  political 
rights  of  the  citizen.  They  are  to  be  found  punctually  at 
their  counting-rooms,  warehouses,  and  on  Change,  but  seldom 
at  the  polls.  This  class  of  immigrants  is  always  desirable. 
It  adds  to  the  mercantile  wealth  and  character  of  the 
country ;  it  gives  an  impetus  to  commerce  and  finance,  and 
without  tampering  with  the  public  policy  of  the  nation, 
enhances  its  power,  and  contributes  to  its  general  prosperity. 

*  The  census  of  1S50  shows  that  pauperism  in  the  Uryted  States  is  in  the  pro 
portion  of  one  American  to  ten  foreigners.  Of  the  native-born  population,  only 
one  In  every  317  is  a  pauper ;  whereas,  of  the  foreign-born  population,  one  in  every 
82  ia  a  pauper. 


THE    AMERICAN    MECHANIC.  1(JQ 

It  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  note,  that  this  class  of  immi 
grants,  the  most  qualified  to  perform,  in  a  rational  manner, 
the  duties  of  citizens,  and  the  most  interested  in  our 
public  policy,  is  the  last  to  avail  itself  of  the  preroga 
tives  of  the  citizen.  The  United  States  can  well  afford  to 
spare  the  occasional  fortunes  borne  back  to  Europe  by  these 
visitors,  as  a  quid  pro  quo  for  the  practical  services  which 
they  render  while  on  our  soil. 

The  second  class  differs  from  the  first  in  many  important 
essentials.     They  are  generally  working-men  and  tradesmen, 
respectable   in    their    sphere,    and    possessing   the   physical 
elements    of    usefulness.  *So   far,    they   are,  .to    a    limited 
extent,  desirable  residents.     In  qualifying  this  desideratum,  I 
mean  to  be  understood  that  it  is  possible  to  overstock  the 
country   with   that   class   of    operatives.     It   is   possible   to 
increase  the  competition  in  mechanical  labor  to  an  unnatural 
extent,    and   thereby  destroy  the   healthy  equilibrium    that 
should  exist  between  that  class  of  labor  and  the  capital  of 
the   country.      The  result  of  such  excess  is  to  reduce  the 
wages  of  the  mechanic  to  a  standard  below  its  relative  value, 
and  drive  the  native  artisan  out  of  employ.     It  must  be  appa 
rent  that,  when   imported  industry  produces  that  effect,  it 
becomes  injurious  to  the  country  at  large,  and  oppressive  to 
one  of  the  most  useful  and  important  classes  of  our  own 
countrymen.     The  offset  of  cheap  wares,  which  this  compe 
tition    produces,  can    bear   no    comparison  with   the  injury 
inflicted  upon  the  vital  interests  of  the  American  mechanic. 

The  home-born  and  home-educated  mechanics  and  trades- 
men  of  the  United  States  constitute,  not  only  the  numerical, 

8 


170  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

but  also  the  moral  power  of  the  country,  and  when  you  strike 
a  blow  at  their  interests,  you  lacerate  the  interests  of  the 
country  itself.      Political    demagogues   are    accustomed    to 
characterize  these  classes  of  citizens  as  the  "  bone  and  sinew  " 
of  the  nation  ;  they  are  more ;  they  are  the  muscle  and  blood, 
with  no  small  share  of  the  brain.     They  are  generally  intelli 
gent,   and   always   law-abiding    and  industrious.      They   are 
patriotic,  brave,  and  generous,  not  mercenary.     Proud,  too, 
as  every  American  freeman  ought  to  be ;  proud  of  their  coun 
try,  their  liberties,  their  independence,  their  national  history, 
and  their  own  manliness,  and  may  God  forbid  that  this  pride 
should  ever   be  humbled!      It   is  the  moral  bulwark   that 
stands  between  the  nation  and  its  foes,  and,  as  such,  demands 
the  most  earnest  solicitude  of  the  government.     As  an  ingre 
dient  of  its  public  policy,  it  is  of  vital  moment  that  the  pro 
ducing  interests  of  the  country  should  be  both  encouraged 
and  protected  on  its  own  ground,  against  an  undue  competi 
tion  created  by  immigration. 

The  theory  that  capital  and  labor  will  naturally  establish 
their  own  equilibrium,  holds  good  where  natural  causes  only 
are  brought  to  bear ;  but  the  excess  of  the  producing  element 
caused  by  immigration,  is  unnatural  and  extraneous,  and  the 
theory  ceases  to  apply  ;  more  especially  where,  as  in  this  case, 
the  element  of  immigrant  labor  exceeds  the  element  of  immi 
grant  capital,  in  a  ratio  at  least  fifty  to  one.  A  discrepancy 
so  wide  is  well  calculated  to  create  an  aristocracy  of  wealth, 
fatal  to  the  moral  and  social  interests  of  the  producing  classes, 
and  liable  to  lead  to  the  wildest  schemes  of  retaliation 
towards  a  government,  or  a  system  that  fosters  and  encour 
ages  it. 


FOREIGN    ORGANIZATIONS. 


But  it  is  the  immediate  political  and  moral  aspects  of  this 
class  of  immigrants  to  which  I  purpose  mainly,  now  to  call  the 
reader's  attention.      They  are  mostly  from  France  and  the 
German  principalities,  to  which  we  may  add  a  few  from  Italy, 
and  a  very  few  of  the  most  illiterate  from  England  ;  and 
although  embodying  distinct  theories,  they  are  found  suffi 
ciently  in  harmony  in  their  general  political  ideas  to  warrant 
their  classification  as  a  unit.     They  are  the  malcontents  of 
the  Old  World,  who  hate  monarchy,  not  because  it  is  monar 
chy,  but  because  it  is  restraint.    They  are  such  men  as  stood  by 
the  side  of  Robespierre,  and  aided  him  in  pouring  out  the  best," 
as  well  as  some  of  the  worst  blood,  of  France  ;  men,  who  estab 
lished  a  horrible  republic  upon    the   corpses  of  their   own 
countrymen,  and  who    advanced  through  carnage,  only  to 
retreat  again  from  their  own  encrimsoned  handiwork,  and, 
with   white   hearts   and  red  hands,  seek,  under   a  restored 
monarchy,  that  safety  which  they  could  not  find  in  the  licen 
tious  and  ungodly  fabric  of  terrors  which  their  own  brutal 
passions  had  erected.     These  are  your  red  republicans!  red 
with  the  blood  of  the  innocent  !   Men  who  would  gladly  abol 
ish  both  law  and  Gospel  at  a  single  swoop  !    Such  men  clamor 
for  "universal  suffrage,"  "free  farms,"  and  "intervention  in 
European  affairs."     They  demand  the  abolition  of  all  laws 
regulating  the  Sabbath"  they  forget  their  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  United  States,  and  call  themselves  "  European  demo 
crats.^     Here  is  one  of  their  cards,  published  in  the  New 
York  papers  during  the  Kossuth  mania.     I  republish  it,  as 
showing  the  drift  of  the  political   thought  of  this  class  of 
adopted  citizens. 


172       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

"  UNITED  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  DEMOCRACY.  The  members 
of  the  French,  German,  Italian,  Hungarian,  Polish,  and  Czecho 
Sclavish  committee,  invite  the  democrats  of  all  the  nations  of  Europe, 
to  meet  on  Wednesday,  the  10th  of  December,  at  9  o'clock,  A.  M.  in 
the  Shakespeare  Hotel,  corner  of  Duane  and  William  streets,  for 
participating  at  the  great  manifestation  for  delivering  to  the  citizen, 
KOSSUTII,  the  flag  of  the  European  democracy. 

"GENERAL    Z.   AVEZZANA, 

"  President  of  the  United  Committees. 
"W.  RAVENEAU,  Secretary." 

Some  of  these  men  are  naturalized  citizens,  probably  some 
are  not ;  but  it  is  known  that  General  Z.  Avezzana,  who  signs 
the  above  card,  as  president  of  the  "  United  Committees  of  the 
European  democracy,"  is  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  he  held  a  commission  as  captain  of  a  mili 
tary  company,  composed  of  "European  democrats,"  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  under  the  broad  seal  of  the  State,  long 
before  Louis  Kossuth  was  heard  of  in  America.  His  title  of 
"General"  is  derived,  doubtless,  from  his  association  with  this 
Red  Republican  organization,  and  will  probably  take  effect 
when  the  people  of  Europe  fight  the  great  battle  of  democracy 
on  European  soil.  The  last  that  I  knew  of  General  Avezzana, 
he  was  a  quiet  and  respectable  segar-dealer,  in  Broadway,  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  an  occupation  far  more  rational  than 
that  of  organizing  seditious  or  revolutionary  parties  in  the 
home  of  his  adoption,  against  the  sovereignties  of  the  Old 
World.  His  association  with  these  revolutionists  proves, 
however,  that  he  has  not  become  Americanized,  notwithstand 
ing  his  formal  naturalization,  and  it  also  leaves  the  inference 


FOREIGN    ORGANIZATIONS.  173 

that  lie  does  not  intend  to  become  Americanized.  He, 
doubtless,  stands  ready,  with  his  associates,  to  spring  into  the 
vortex  of  European  revolution  whenever  a  favorable  oppor 
tunity  is  presented ;  not  in  the  character  of  an  American 
citizen,  but  as  an  Italian. 

This  exhibits  the  true  sentiments  of  these  men  in  regard 
to  their  home  attachments.  They  are  patriotic,  perhaps 
overzealous,  arid  founded  on  unreal  notions  of  what  consti 
tutes  rational  liberty ;  but  springing  from  the  pure  fountains 
of  Nature.  It  presents  them  in  their  true  light  as  Euro 
peans,  not  as  Americans. 

But  it  is,  after  all,  perhaps,  more  important  that  we  should 
know  their  sentiments  in  regard  to  their  adopted  country, 
than  what  they  intend  to  do  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  because  that  is  what  most  interests  our  immediate 
welfare.  This  ranting  about  European  revolution  is  of  little 
importance  to  the  American  people,  so  long  as  the  ranters 
deport  themselves  as  law-abiding  citizens,  loyal  to  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  country,  and  attached  to  those  institutions,  of 
which  that  Constitution  is  the  basis.  It  is  when  they  attempt 
to  engraft  their  crude,  radical  notions  upon  our  system,  and 
to  subvert  that  beautiful  fabric  of  government  which  alone 
can  ensure  to  us  the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty — it 
is  then  that  we  are  called  upon  to  meet  them  with  the 
sturdiest  weapons  that  patriotism  can  devise,  and  beat  down 
their  seditious  and  treasonable  aims.  In  order  that  the 
reader  may  understand  how  far  this  class  of  adopted 
citizens  appreciate  the  glorious  boon  of  liberty  which  we 
present  to  them,  let  us  quote  from  one  of  their  manifestoes,- 


174       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

published  in  the  city  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  the  year 
1851.  It  was  issued  by  the  German  branch  of  this  "Euro 
pean  democracy,"  and  is  entitled  the  "PLATFORM  OF  THE 
SOCIAL  DEMOCRATIC  SOCIETY  OF  WORKINGMEN." 

From  this  "platform"  I  make  the  following  quotation. 
After  an  appropriate  preamble,  in  which  they  declare  that 
the  American  people  "have  proven  their  incapacity  to 
develop  and  build  up  the  true  democratic  principles  of  the 
Constitution"  of  their  own  country,  these  men  say:  "The 
Working-men's  Society,  in  Richmond,  has  therefore  resolved 
to  publish  the  following  fundamental  principles  of  reform  :" 

"  A.  Reform  in  the  Laws  of  the  General  Government,  as  well  as 
in  those  of  the  States." 

"  WE  DEMAND,  1.  Universal  suffrage.  2.  The  election  of  all  officers 
by  the  people.  3.  The*  abolition  of  the  presidency.  4.  The  aboli 
tion  of  senates,  so  that  the  legislature  shall  consist  of  only  one 
branch.  5.  The  right  of  the  people  to  recall  their  representatives  at 
their  pleasure.  6.  The  right  of  the  people  to  change  their  constitu 
tion  when  they  like.  7.  All  lawsuits  to  be  conducted  without 
expense.  8.  A  department  of  the  government  to  be  set  up  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  immigration.  9.  A  reduced  term  for  acquir 
ing  citizenship." 

These  are  the  alterations  they  would  make  in  the  internal 
government  of  the  country.  I  do  not  republish  them  with 
a  view  of  controverting  their  theories— they  are  too  ridicu 
lous  for  anything  like  serious  argument,  and  too  insolent  for 
any  other  notice  than  that  of  contempt.  The  object  is  to 
give  the  platform  as  much  publicity  as  possible,  in  order  that 
the  American  people  may  see  what  kind  of  citizens  we 


THE    GERMAN    PLATFORM.  175 

manufacture  out  of  these  red  republican,  agrarian  intidels, 
by  the  process  of  naturalization.  But  I  pass  now  to  the 
second  plank  in  their  platform.  It  is  marked  and  entitled  as 
follows : 

"  B.  Reform  in  the  FOREIGN  Relations  of  the  Government." 
11 1.  Abolition  of  all  neutrality.    2.  Intervention  in  favor  of  every 
people  struggling  for  liberty." 

It  is  not  assuming  too  much  to  suppose,  that,  with'  the 
guardianship  of  the  whole  world  upon  his  shoulders,  as  this 
idea  suggests,  Uncle  Sam  would  have  his  hands  full,  and 
plenty  of  exercise.  The  idea  is  certainly  a  brilliant  one ! 
But  in  the  next  plank  we  are  to  have : 

"  C.  Reform  in  what  relates  to  Religion." 

"  1.  A  more  perfect  development  of  the  principle  of  personal  free 
dom  and  liberty  of  conscience.  Abolition  of  laws  for  the  obser 
vance  of  the  Sabbath.  Abolition  of  prayers  in  Congress — abolition 
of  oath  upon  the  Bible" 

What  a  blessed  reform  this  would  be  in  religious  matters  ! 
I  do  not  think  the  American  people  are  prepared  to  follow 
out  the  suggestion,  yet  this  is  what  these  adopted  citizens 
want,  and  they  do  not  hesitate  to  say  so.  The  next  feature 

of  this  interesting  platform  relates  to : 

-,~» 
"  D.  Reform  in  the  SOCIAL  Conditions.''1 

1.  Abolition  of  landed  monopoly.  [This  means  simply  that  those 
men  who,  by  their  industry  and  talent,  have  acquired  a  large  estate, 
shall  be  compelled  to  divide  it  with  those  who  have  neither  the 


176  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

industry  nor  the  talent  to  acquire  for  themselves.]  2.  Advalorem 
taxation  of  property.  3.  Amelioration  of  the  working  classes — by 
lessening  the  time  of  work  to  eight  hours  for  grown  persons,  and 
five  hours  for  children.  By  incorporation  of  mechanics'  associations 
and  protective  societies.  By  granting  a  preference  to  mechanics 
before  all  other  creditors.  By  establishing  an  asylum  for  super 
annuated  mechanics  without  means,  at  the  public  expense." 

Our  American  mechanics  are  willing  to  work  ten,  twelve, 
and  sometimes,  voluntarily,  sixteen  hours  a  day,  and,  conse 
quently,  they  are  not  likely  to  become  "  superannuated 
without  means."  It  is  a  capital  idea,  though,  of  these 
"social  democrats,"  that  the  State  shall  first  pass  laws  to 
encourage  and  sustain  them  in  their  laziness,  and  then  build 
comfortable  asylums,  in  which  they  may  enjoy  their  otium 
cum  dignitate,  drink  lager-bier  and  puff  the  meerschaum 
without  money  and  without  price.  What  an  admirable 
incentive  to  industry  such  a  svstem  would  afford 

"  4.  Education  of  poor  children  by  the  State.  5.  Taking  posses 
sion  of  the  railroads  by  the  State.  6.  Promotion  of  education.  By 
the  introduction  of  free  schools,  with  the  power  of  forcing  the 
parents  to  send  their  children  to  school,  and  prohibition  of  all 
clerical  influence.  By  instruction  in  the  German  language.  By 
establishing  a  German  University ." 

The  last  two  demands  illustrate,  in  a  striking  manner,  the 
extent  of  nationalization,  which  they  have  undergone  by  the 
process  of  naturalization. 

"  7.  The  supporting  of  the  slave  emancipation  exertions  of 
Cassius  M.  Clay  by  congressional  laws.  8.  Abolition  of  the  Christian 


THE    GERMAN    PLATFORM.  177 

system  of  punishment,  and  introduction  of  the  human  amelioration 
system.    9.  Abolition  of  capital  punishment," 

This  platform  was  signed  : 

"For  the  name  of  the  Social  Democratic  Society, 

"Dn.  C.  HEIXMETZ,  President. 

"  J.  BIESEB,  Secretary.* 
DATED,  "  RICHMOND,  VA.,  Oct.,  1851." 

Here  our  fellow-countrymen  may  see  at  a  glance  the 
moral,  social,  and  political  predilections  and  aspirations  of  this 
class  of  immigrants.  We  receive  them  with  the  arms  of  hos- 

*  On  the  basis  of  this  platform,  an  association  of  foreign  radicals  was  formed 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  entitled  "  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTIONARY  LEAGUE  FOR 
EUROPE."  The  plan  was  arranged  on  a  grand  scale,  and  provided  for  the  organiza 
tion  of  subordinate  leagues  and  military  corps  in  every  city  and  county  in  the 
United  States,  with  a  congress  of  delegates  for  the  general  government  and 
direction  of  their  seditious  plan.  At  a  meeting  of  the  congress,  held  in  Philadel 
phia,  on  the  29th  day  of  January,  1852,  a  constitution  was  adopted,  giving  a  full 
account  of  the  plan,  and  the  manner  of  carrying  it  out.  That  Constitution  will  be 
found  at  length  in  the  Appendix  of  this  volume. 

Prior  to  the  arrival  of  Kossuth  in  America,  Dr.  Kinkle,  the  celebrated  German 
socialist  professor,  had  done  much  towards  forwarding  these  seditious  movements, 
aimed  alike  at  our  system  of  neutrality  and  our  form  of  government.  In  the 
accomplishment  of  their  ends,  those  radicals  did  not  hesitate  to  seize  upon  every 
subject  which  had  taken  hold  of  the  popular  mind,  and  in  their  efforts  to  raise  the 
proposed  revolutionary  fund,  they  took  sides  with  the  abolitionists,  as  indicated 
in  the  Tth  subdivision  of  their  article  on  "  Reform  in  the  Social  Condition,"  hoping 
to  gain  their  sympathies,  and  glean,  at  the  same  time,  a  few  pence  from  the  free 
colored  men  in  the  United  States.  Thus  we  have  the  resolutions  passed  at  a 
meeting  of  the  German  Political  Club,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  the  following  words : 

"  Whereas,  The  colored  people,  in  their  meeting,  held  on  the  17th  inst.,  have 
expressed  their  sympathy  with  the  German  Nation  by  a  resolution  to  actually  aid 
the  German  National  Loan,  the  German  Political  Club  resolves : 

"1st.  To  express  its  hearty  thanks,  and  avails  itself  of  this  opportunity  to 
declare  the  conviction  that  the  Genna-ii  people,  as  soon  as  tkey  shall  have 
Obtained  the  Democratic  Republic  in  the  coming  struggle,  lisa  all  means  which 
are  adapted  to  abolish  /Slavery,  an  Institution  which  is  so  wholly  repugnant  to 
the  principles  of  true  Democracy. 

"  2d.  That  this  resolution  shall  be  published  in  all  the  m-vv^papers  of  this  city." 

8* 


178       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

pitality  and  sympathy  wide  open — we  embrace  them  ;  we 
feed  and  clothe  them ;  we  protect  them  from  the  despotisms 
that  would  pursue  and  destroy  them,  we  give  them  liberty, 
social  and  religious  ;  we  make  them  our  peers,  our  equals  ;  we 
marry  them  to  our  children  ;  we  say  to  them,  partake  with 
us  of  the  bounty  which,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  and 
through  our  gracious  institutions  of  freedom,  have  been 
bestowed  upon  us — and  they  repay  us  with  ingratitude,  and, 
under  the  very  license  that  we  give  to  them,  they  coolly, 
ignorantly,  and  deliberately  set  to  work  in  pulling  down  the 
humane  fabric  which  generously  protects  them.  They  would 
destroy  the  very  system  which  has  afforded  them  a  refuge, 
when  they  had  no  other  refuge  on  earth,  and,  in  that  destruc 
tion,  they  would  involve  themselves  and  their  benefactors  in 
one  stupendous  ruin. 

A  few  words  on  this  subject,  from  one  who  never  erred  in 
his  judgment,  nor  swerved  in  his  patriotism,  may  be  appro 
priately  quoted  in  this  place.  In  the  farewell  address  of 
Washington,  we  find  the  following  passage : 

"  Citizens,  by  birth  or  choice,  of  a  common  country,  that  country 
has  a  right  to  concentrate  your  affections.  The  name  of  AMERICAN, 
which  belongs  to  yon  in  your  national  capacity,  must  always  exalt 
the  just  pride  of  patriotism  more  than  any  appellation  derived  from 
local  discriminations.  With  slight  shades  of  difference,  you  have  the 
same  religion,  manners,  habits,  and  political  principles.  You  have,  in 
a  common  cause,  fought  and  triumphed  together  ;  the  independence 
and  liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  counsels  and  joint 
efforts,  of  common  dangers,  sufferings,  and  successes." 

That  country  has  been  far  from  successful  in  its  right  "  to 


PAPISTS.  179 

concentrate  the  affections"  of  the  citizens  by  choice;  and,  at 
the  present  day,  how  bold  and  distinct  have  become  "the 
shades  and  difference  in  the  religion,  manners,  habits,  and 
political  principles,"  which,  in  the  days  of  Washington,  were 
so  "  slight !" 

Viewing  this  subject  philosophically  or  practically,  we  find 
that  these  men  realize  in  the  country  of  their  refuge  more 
liberty  than  they  are  capable  of  "  enjoying  and   employing 
rationally."    Bred  to  a  hatred  of  their  own  home-government, 
they  have   acquired   an    almost   instinctive   hostility  to   all 
government.     Taught  by  sad  experience  to  regard  the  rulers 
of  their  native  land  as  tyrants,  they  do  not  realize  the  possi 
bility  of  a  government  of  equal   and  liberal   laws.     Never 
having  seen  liberty,  they  know  not  what  it  is,  and  with  the 
first   taste  of  its  sweets,   all  restraints,  civil   and  religious, 
become  alike  irksome  to  them.     They  soon  begin  to  regard 
all  laws  as  oppressive,  whether  they  emanate  from  the  edict 
of  a  despot,  or  the  openly-declared  will   of  a  free  people. 
Thus,  having  nothing  to  lose,  and,  as  they  think,  everything 
to  gain,  by  agitation,  they  thirst  eternally  for  change,  fondly 
believing  that  the  time  is  at  hand  when  they  can  ride  indo 
lently  into  power  or  wealth,  by  the  effect  of  the  suffrage,  or 
mount  to  them  on  the  blood-red  waves  of  REVOLUTION  ! 

I  pass  now  to  the  third  class  of  emigrants,  viz.  "  Papists 

men  who  will  obey  their  priests  first,  and  the  laws  of  the 
country  afterwards."  I  refer  to  this  subject  again,  only  in  its 
connection  with  immigration.  The  morale  of  the  papal  influ 
ence  in  the  United  States  has  been  as  fully  discussed,  in  pre 
ceding  chapters,  as  the  limits  of  the  present  work  will 


180        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN'  POLICY. 

permit ;  and  it  remains  only  to  state  in  this  place,  that  it  is 
to  immigration  that  the  United  States  are  indebted  for  the 
introduction  of  this  element  into  the  public  policy  of  the 
nation. 

To  the  fourth  class  of  immigrants,  viz.  "Paupers,"  we 
may  appropriately  add  Felons,  because  it  is  proven  to  a 
demonstration  that  both  paupers  and  felons  have  been  syste 
matically  sent  from  European  governments  and  municipalities 
to  the  United  States,  in  order  to  rid  themselves  of  the  sup 
port  of  the  one  and  the  villainies  of  the  other.  Within  a 
short  period,  several  nests  of  convicted  felons  have  been  actu 
ally  intercepted  on  their  way  into  the  port  of  New  York. 
Among  them,  I  will  mention  the  case  of  the  British  vessel, 
the  Crocodile,  which,  in  August,  1854,  arrived  from  Bermuda, 
having  on  board  seven  convicts,  who  had  been  released  from 
sentence,  on  condition  that  they  would  "emigrate"  to  the 
United  States.  Also,  the  British  ship  Falcon,  which  arrived 
soon  after  the  Crocodile,  having  on  board  ten  more  convicts, 
released  on  the  same  conditions.  Another  batch  of  ten  con 
victs,  from  Belgium,  was  detected  and  arrested  on  entering 
the  same  port,  during  the  winter  of  1854  and  '55,  and  lodged 
in  prison ;  but,  while  the  mayor  of  the  city  was  engaged  in 
obtaining  the  proofs  of  their  infamous  characters,  they  were 
taken  from  prison,  on  writs  of  habeas  corpus,  and  discharged 
summarily  by  his  honor  Judge  Roosevelt, 

These  cases  are  cited  merely  to  prove  that  this  infamous 
system  is  carried  on  under  the  name  and  prestige  of  "  immi 
gration,"  and  thus  our  hospitality  is  abused,  and  the  moral 
atmosphere  of  society  contaminated.  The  extent  to  which 


PAUPER   IMMIGRATION.  181 

this  species  of  imposture  Las  been  .carried  on  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  estimate.  Probably  the  most  accurate  data  on 
which  an  opinion  can  be  based  is  the  enormous  dispropor 
tion  of  European  criminals  in  the  United  States,  as  compared 
with  those  of  American  birth ;  a  majority  of  all  the  capital 
crimes,  the  felonies,  larcenies,  and  misdemeanors  being  com 
mitted  by  foreigners,  whereas  the  foreign  population  of  the 
country  is  only  about  one-seventh  of  the  whole. 

"In  December,  1853,  I  visited  the  city  prison,  for  the 
purpose  of  examining  the  record  of  capital  offences,  and  I 
found  that  within  the  eleven  months  past  there  have  been 
fully  committed  for  trial,  on  the  charge  of  murder,  twenty- 
three  persons. 

"Of  these  only  eight  were  Americans,  including  two 
blacks. 

"There  were  committed  for  the  crime  of  manslaughter, 
six  persons,  only  one  of  whom  was  an  American. 

"  On  a  charge  of  assault  with  intent  to  kill,  there  were 
committed  thirty-five  persons.  Of  these  only  eight  were 
Americans,  including  five  blacks. 

"  On  a  charge  of  arson,  there  were  committed  four  persons, 
all  of  whom  were  foreio-ners. 

£3 

Here  we  find  sixty-nine  commitments  of  persons  charged 
with  the  most  heinous  crimes  known  to  our  laws,  and  of  the 
whole  number  so  charged  there  are  only  TEN  white  Ameri 
cans  (five  of  whom  are  of  foreign  parentage)  and  seven  Ameri 
can  negroes,  the  remaining  fifty-two  being  all  immigrants 
from  foreign  countries  ! 

What  an  appalling  picture  of  imported  crime  does  this 
present ! 


182  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

And,  in  continuation  of  the  subject,  we  may  add  the 
following : 

"  At  the  October  term  of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terinirier,  in  New 
York,  in  1851,  Judge  Edmonds,  in  passing  sentence  on  certain  mur 
derers,  used  the  following  expressive  language  : 

"  '  Eight  persons  have  been  arraigned  at  this  term  for  murder. 
Five  of  you  have  been  convicted,  and  upon  three  of  you  the  last 
punishment  known  to  our  law  is  denounced.  All  of  you  owe  your 
crimes  to  your  indulgence  in  the  ruinous  habit  of  intoxication.  All 
of  you  are  foreigners,  who  have  sought  our  soil  that  you  might 
enjoy  the  benefit  of  our  free  institutions,  and,  in  return  for  the  pro 
tection  which  our  laws  so  freely  offer  to  you,  violate  them  without 
scruple,  and  apparently  without  remorse,  even  unto  the  shedding  of 
blood.  The  preservation  of  peace  and  good  order  among  us,  and 
the  security  of  human  life,  admonish  us,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  under 
such  circumstances,  to  enforce  the  law  upon  you.'  " 

If  we  look  at  the  catalogue  of  minor  offences  we  behold 
the  same  glaring  disproportion.  By  the  return  of  the 
Warden  of  the  New  York  city  prison,  for  the  year  1850,  T 
find  the  total  number  of  commitments  made  during  the  year 
as  21,299,  of  whom  5,777  were  natives,  and  15,522  foreign 
ers.  Nearly  three  foreigners  to  one  American  are  thus 
placed  on  the  record  of  crime. 

It  is  needless  to  enter  upon  further  details  in  proof  of  the 
magnitude  of  this  class  of  immigration  ;  the  records  of  our 
courts ;  the  prisons  of  the  several  States ;  nay,  even  the 
gallows  itself,  stand  forth,  a  grim,  but  incontestible  witness  of 
the  fact,  that  to  immigration  alone  we  are  indebted  for  the 
vast  excess  of  crime  which  so  often  startles  the  moral  sense 
of  our  communities,  and  casts  a  stain  upon  our  national 


PAUPER    IMMIGRATION.  183 

reputation.*  And  yet,  through  our  liberal  system  of  natural 
ization,  these  same  criminals,  if  they  can  manage  to  avoid 
conviction  of  crime  long  enough,  become  citizens  and  voters 
in  five  years  after  their  arrival  on  our  soil ! 

The  magnitude  of  pauper  immigration  is  readily  measured 
at  the  overflowing  eleemosynary  institutions  of  the  country, 
and  especially  those  established  for  their  especial  benefit. 
The  Reports  of  the  Commissioners  of  Emigration  of  New 
York,  for  the  years  1852,  1853,  and  1854,  exhibit  the  follow 
ing  facts.  The  Commissioners  of  Emigration  are  a  body 
organized  by  the  laws  of  the  State  to  look  after  the  interests 
of  immigrants,  and  provide  for  those  that  are  needy ;  and  it 
is  only  from  their  annual  reports  that  a  correct  statistical 
view  of  this  interesting  subject  can  be  obtained  by  the 
public.  Their  report  for  the  year  1852  exhibits  the  fact  that, 
during  that  year,  no  less  than  300.992  aliens  arrived  in  the 
port  of  New  York  alone,  and  passed  under  their  supervision ; 
and,  during  that  year,  no  less  than  141,992  were  either  sup 
ported  entirely  or  pecuniarily  assisted  by  the  commission! 
Thus,  there  were  received  into  their  institutions,  totally  desti 
tute,  the  following; 

In  the  Marine  Hospital,  destitute  and  diseased, 8,887 

"      Refuge  and  Hospital  on  Ward's  Island. 15,182 

"      Lunatic  Asylum, 355 


Total  in  the  Institution, 24,424 

Besides  these,  there  were  boarded  and  lodged,  tem 
porarily,  in  the  city, , 117.568 

Total  number  cared  for, 141,992 

*  See  the  Appendix  to  this  volume. 


184  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

In  1853,  the  number  of  alien  passengers  was  284,945. 
There  were  supported — 

In  the  Marino  llorpital, 4,796 

"      Refuge  and  Hospital  on  Ward's  Island, 14,365 

"      Lunatic  Asylum, 362 

Total  in  the  Institution, 19,523 

Boarded  and  lodged,  temporarily,  in  the  city, 44,514 

Total  number  cared  for, 64,037 

In   1854,  the  number  of  alien  passengers  was  319,223. 
There  were  supported — 

In  the  Marine  Hospital, 4,762 

"      Refuge  and  Hospital  on  Ward's  Island, 15,950 

"      Lunatic  Asylum. ..                             260 


Total  in  the  Institution, 20,972 

Boarded  and  lodged,  temporarily,  in  the  city, 44,514 

Total  number  cared  for, 65,486 

By  this,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  authorities  of  New  York 
support  and  provide  annually  for  a  population  of  diseased 
and  destitute  aliens,  the  very  refuse  of  Europe,  to  an  extent 
equal  to  the  entire  population  of  any  one  county  in  the  State, 
excepting  the  four  or  five  largest  counties,  and  far  greater 
than  that  of  many  of  the  most  thriving  counties !  In  fact, 
there  were,  at  the  Census  of  1850,  ten  counties  in  the  State 
of  New  York  whose  entire  population,  severally,  was  less 
than  the  number  of  foreign  paupers  entirely  and  perma 
nently  supported  in  the  hospitals  and  asylums  of  the  Com- 


PAUPER    IMMIGRATIOX.  185 

missioners  of  Emigration,  during  (lie  year  1852!  With 
these  facts  before  us,  I  feel  justified  in  classifying  "paupers" 
as  one  of  the  great  subdivisions  of  immigration  at  the  pre 
sent  day.  They  are  fairly  entitled  to  that  dignity;  and  it 
should  be  a  question— a  prominent  question— with  the  Amer 
ican  people,  whether  this  class  of  immigrants  ought  to  be 
encouraged  or  tolerated.  They  are  not  merely  useless,  they 
are  worse  than  useless— they  are  a  moral  sore  on  the  body 
politic— a  disease,  both  moral  and  physical— a  leprosy— a 
contamination ;  and  the  American  authorities  and  people  are 
made  to  be  their  servants,  their  physicians,  their  nurses,  their 
hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water ! 

The  plea,  that  the  commutation  tax  paid  by  immigration 
supports  this  aggregation  of  moral  filth  in  our  community,  is 
paltry,  if  not  meanly  mercenary.  It  is  as  much  as  to  say, 
"If  Europe  is  willing  to  pay  us  for  doing  her  dirty  work,  we 
are  willing  to  do  it  for  her;",  and  for  the  sake  of  a  few  offi 
cials,  who  grow  fat  and  lusty  by  their  speculations  on  this 
capital  of  infamy,  the  people  consent  to  suffer  it.  It  is  a 
system  of  low,  miserable  fawning  to  the  political  influence  of 
the  foreign  element  in  our  midst,  and  it  needs  reforming  at 
the  hands  of  an  honest  but  confiding  community. 

European  immigration  to  the  United  States  will  be  found, 
on  a  clear  and  impartial  view,  to  have  been  attended  with  its 
advantages  and  its  disadvantages— the  latter  greatly  prepon 
derating.  It  has  afforded  us  limited  advantages  in  commerce 
—it  has  supplied  us  with  servants  and  laborers,  and  it  has 
added  to  the  numerical  power  of  the  nation.  But  it  has  also 
brought  upon  us  a  train  of  evils  not  easily  eradicated. 


186        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

Immigration  has  given  us  too  many  servants.  It  has  left 
too  little  for  American  boys  and  American  girls  to  do.  It 
has  deprived  them  of  those  opportunities  for  practical  study 
in  the  duties  of  ife  which  are  absolutely  essential  for  their 
welfare  as  men  and  women.  Our  boys  are  gentlemen,  and 
our  girls  are  ladies,  at  ten  years  of  age ;  and  the  consequence 
is,  that,  at  twenty-one,  they  are  too  often  neither  the  one  nor 
the  other.  Dennis  and  Bridget  have  usurped  the  place  of 
our  own  children,  our  apprentices,  and  our  clerks,  at  the 
house,  while  Patrick  takes  down  the  shutters,  sweeps  the 
floor  and  arranges  the  goods  at  the  store. 

The  light  labors  of  the  house,  the  workshop,  and  the  store, 
are  essential  to  a  proper  discipline  of  the  young  mind  of 
both  sexes ;  and  the  performance  of  them  is  the  prerogative 
of  the  rising  republican  generations.  Excessive  immigration, 
by  cheapening  servile  labor,  deprives  them  of  this  prerogative  ; 
and,  as  a  consequence,  our  youth  very  often  become  preco 
cious  aristocrats  at  sixteen  years  of  age 

Immigration  has  produced  a  discord  of  moral  and  political 
sentiment  in  the  land.  It  has  engendered  a  clannish  spirit 
uncongenial  with  the  national  feeling ;  it  has  inculcated  theo 
ries  at  variance  with  the  principles  of  American  republican 
ism — it  has  brought  infidelity,  and  a  disregard  for  those 
habits  of  religion  and  morality  which  were  inculcated  by  our 
forefathers — it  has  implanted  the  papal  influence,  that  poison 
ous  foe  of  civil  and  religious  liberty — it  has  invaded  the  time- 
honored  customs  of  our  ancestors :  customs  closely  associating 
the  social,  moral,  and  political  duties  of  the  citizen  with  a 
firm  and  implicit  reliance  on  the  providences  of  God ;  it  has 


EVILS    OF    EXCESSIVE    IMMIGRATION.  187 

inflicted  an  unequal  competition  on  the  industry  of  the  people, 
and  brought  about  a  dangerous  and  temporising  disposition 
among  those  on  whom  the  people  rely  for  the  safe  and  judi 
cious  management  of  their  public  affairs. 

These  are  facts,  and,  with  such  facts  before  us,  the  duties 
of  the  American  statesman,  in  his  dealing  with  immigration, 
are  no  longer  problematical.  They  are  manifest.  If  he  can 
not  check  the  moral  evils  resulting  therefrom,  he  can  at  least 
stay  the  current  of  national  emasculation,  and  throw  a  safe 
guard  around  the  altar  of  American  liberty. 


188       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

INTERVENTION — THE   PLANS  OF  LOUIS  KOSSUTH — HENRY   CLAY. 
"  Who  would  be  free,  themselves  must  strike  the  blow." 

THE  influence  of  American  example  lias  been  developed 
in  a  diversity  of  forms,  but  in  none,  perhaps,  more  forcibly 
than  in  the  eagerness  of  monarchical  subjects  to  throw  off 
the  senseless  incumbrance  of  "legitimacy,"  and  assert  the 
broad  principle  of  popular  sovereignty.  The  ruling  powers 
of  Europe  have  naturally  and  invariably  united  in  support  of 
the  system  of  legitimacy  and  aristocracy.  To  have  done 
otherwise  would  have  been  to  falsify  their  own  theories  of 
government,  and  to  jeopardize  their  own  schemes  of  per 
sonal  aggrandizement.  The  word  "  legitimacy,"  in  this  sense, 
implies  simply  a  political  right  by  primogeniture ;  a  right  to 
govern,  acknowledged  by  the  mere  circumstance  of  birth. 
By  this  system,  all  the  attributes  of  sovereignty  are  claimed 
and  held  by  the  rule  of  simple  descent,  from  father  to  son. 

The  success  of  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty,  a« 
developed  in  the  expanded  power  and  influence  of  the  United 
States,  has  inspired  the  "legitimately"  governed  peoples  of 
Europe  with  new  ideas  and  new  impulses.  They  desire  tc 
imitate  our  example,  and  with  that  desire  arises,  almos! 


NON-INTERVENTION,    OUR    TRUE    PQLICT.  189 

instinctively,  a  call  to  us  for  aid.  They  ask  us  to  make  war 
upon  their  tyrants,  and  free  them  from  the  yoke  of  subjec 
tion.  This  is  not  unnatural  ;  but  it  is  unreasonable.  To 
yield  to  their  several  demands  would  be  a  dangerous  depart 
ure  from  the  precepts  of  that  great  "first  law  of  nature," 
self-preservation,  and  a  direct  infraction  of  the  long-settled 
policy  of  the  Republic—the  policy  of  non-intervention  in  the 
political  affairs  of  other  nations.  This  policy  of  our  govern 
ment  is  coeval  with  the  government  itself.  It  was  urged  and 
sustained  by  the  founders  of  the  nation,  and  especially 
enjoined  upon  the  people  by  WASHINGTON  himself.  Nothing- 
can  be  more  unequivocal  on  the  subject  than  the  following- 
extract  from  a  letter,  written  by  WASHINGTON,  to  the  Earl 
of  Buchan  : 


"MY  LORD: 

The  favorable  wishes  which  your  lordship  has  expressed  for 
the  prosperity  of  this  young  and  rising  country  cannot  but  be  grate 
fully  received  by  all  citizens,  and  every  lover  of  it  ;  one  means  to 
the  contribution  of  which  and  its  happiness,  is  very  judiciously 
portrayed  in  the  following  words  of  your  letter,  <  to  be  little  heard  of 
in  the  great  world  of  politics?  These  words,  I  can  assure  your 
lordship,  are  expressive  of  my  sentiments  on  this  head,  and  I  believe 
it  is  the  sincere  wish  of  United  America  to  HAVE  NOTHING  TO  DO 

WITH    THE    POLITICAL    INTRIGUES    OR    THE    SQUABBLES    OF    EUROPEAN 

NATIONS,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  exchange  commodities,  and  live  in 
peace  and  amity,  with  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  ;  and  this,  I 
am  persuaded,  they  will  do,  if  rightfully  it  can  be  done.  '  To  admin- 
ister  justice  to,  and  receive  it  from  every  Power  they  are  connected 
with,  will,  I  hope,  be  always  found  the  most  prominent  feature  in  the 
administration  of  this  country  ;  and  I  flatter  myself  that  nothing 


190  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    1'OLICY. 

short  of  imperious  necessity  can  occasion  a  breach  with  any  of  them. 
Under  such  a  system,  if  we  are  allowed  to  pursue  it,  the  agriculture 
and  mechanical  arts,  the  wealth  and  population  of  these  States,  will 
increase  with  that  degree  of  rapidity  as  to  baffle  all  calculation,  and 
must  surpass  any  idea  your  lordship  can  hitherto  have  entertained  on 
the  occasion.77 

From  this  policy  our  government  has  never  departed,  and 
under  it  the  magnificent  prophecy  of  Washington  has  been 
fulfilled.  "  The  agriculture  and  mechanical  arts,  the  wealth 
and  population  of  these  States,"  have  increased ""  with  that 
degree  of  rapidity  as  to  baffle  all  calculation."' 

In  adopting  and  sustaining  this  system,  the  United  States 
has  stood  alone  among  nations ;  yet  it  has  been  admitted  by 
eminent  statesmen,  in  England,  to  be  an  important  element  in 
the  most  perfect  system  of  neutrality  in  existence.  But, 
with  all  its  admirable  qualities,  we  can  scarcely  hope  to  find 
the  doctrine  of  non-intervention  in  practice  in  Europe,  so 
long  as  "  legitimacy "  continues  to  be  the  ruling  theory  of 
governments.  Intervention  is  essential  to  the  maintenance 
of  that  theory,  as  well  as  to  the  preservation  of  dynasties. 
It  was  this  element  which  brought  together  the  several 
sovereignties  of  Europe  against  Republican  France,  and  led 
to  the  brilliant  achievements  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 

In  that  protracted  contest,  however,  the  efforts  of  inter 
vention  were  not  directed  solely  against  Republicanism. 
This  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  the  most  decided  energies  of 
the  combined  Powers  were  put  forth  after  the  Republic  had 
been  merged  in  the  empire,  and  while  Napoleon,  who  was  not 
of  "  blood  royal,"  bore  the  sceptre  of  France.  It  was  an 


LOUIS    KOSSUTH.  191 

intervention  on  behalf  of  "  legitimacy ;"  and  its  immediate 
purpose  was  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbon  dynasty.  It  was 
successful — Napoleon,  deserted  by  his  own  countrymen,  and 
basely  betrayed  by  England,  became  a  prisoner  for  life,  and 
the  Bourbon  resumed  the  throne.  Every  event  of  that 
tremendous  contest  bears  witness  of  the  fickleness  of  France, 
and  the  last  of  all  stands  forth  in  bold  relief,  a  monument  of 
her  ingratitude. 

Intervention  in  the  affairs  of  other  nations  is  an  element  in 
the  policy  of  monarchical  governments.  With  them  it 
involves  the  principle  of  self-preservation.  With  Republican 
America  the  opposite  is  the  case.  Our  policy  is  as  extreme 
as  our  institutions,  from  everything  which  characterizes  the 
monarchy;  and,  although  our  sympathies  must,  and  will, 
ever  be  with  those  who  struggle  against  oppression,  it  is 
neither  our  policy  nor  our  duty  to  involve  ourselves  in  their 
affairs,  to  jeopardize  our  peace,  or  embroil  our  nation. 

The  eminent  Hungarian,  Louis  Kossuth,  was  the  first  and 
only  man  who  could,  even  momentarily,  shake  the  sentiment 
of  the  American  people  on  this  question.  His  struggles 
(ostensibly  for  freedom),  his  sacrifices,  his  misfortunes,  his 
imprisonment  in  Turkey,  and  his  out-spoken  appeals,  touched 
the  American  heart,  and  it  vibrated  under  his  hand  like  a 
sweet-toned  instrument  at  the  touch  of  a  master.  But  his 
real  character  and  his  real  purpose  were  misunderstood,  until, 
standing  upon  our  own  soil,  and  speaking  from  his  own  lips, 
Kossuth  made  himself  known  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  The  transition  of  public  sentiment  which  followed, 
was  almost  unpardonable.  To  him  it  was  terrible.  He  came 


192  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

among  us  alike  misunderstanding  and  misunderstood.  The 
generosity  of  our  government  in  rescuing  him,  and  offering 
him  a  place  of  safe  exile,  was  misconstrued ;  and,  instead  of 
evincing  that  gratitude  which  seemed  due  to  an  act  so 
august,  he  had  no  sooner  set  foot  upon  our  land  than  he 
assumed  the  authoritative  bearing  of  a  monarch,  and  unhesi 
tatingly  demanded  a  renunciation  of  our  national  policy,  and 
the  violation  of  a  sacred  neutrality. "  It  is  almost  painful  to 
revert  to  the  contrasted  events  of  his  arrival  upon,  and  his 
departure  from,  our  shores.  He  came  the  honored  guest  of 
the  popular  heart.  He  was  received  with  a  succession  of 
triumphs,  unparalleled,  perhaps,  in  the  annals  of  our  country. 
He  departed  in  obscurity,  and,  to  his  own  discredit,  under  an 
assumed  name.  His  approach  was  glorious,  his  sojourn  sedi 
tious,  his  departure  disgraceful. 

His  appeal  to  the  Germans  in  this  country,  urging  them  to 
quit  their  allegiance,  and  cast  their  suffrages  on  behalf  of  the 
European  revolutionists,  was  an  act  of  sedition  the  most 
gross  and  ungrateful.*  His  attempted  perversion  of  the 
language  and  precepts  of  Washington,  was  an  insult  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  nation ;  and  his  demeanor,  while  amongst 
us,  marked  as  it  was,  from  first  to  las',  with  an  air  of  egotis 
tical  nonchalance,  was  that  of  a  master,  rather  than  a  guest. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  flood  of  generous 
sympathy,  which  welcomed  the  persecuted  exile,  should  have 
been  withdrawn  from  the  unscrupulous  agitator.  Yet,  Kos- 
suth  was  not  alone  to  blame  in  this  matter.  He  had,  with 
unequivocal  frankness,  declared  his  views  on  the  course 

*  See  the  Appendix  to  thie  volume. 


THE    MISSION    OF    KOSSUTH.  193 

which  he  believed  the  United  States  ought  to  pursue  towards 
the  revolutionists  of  Europe,  long  before  his  eyes  were 
greeted  with  the  cheering  view  of  our  republican  hill— long 
before  he  had  set  foot  upon  the  deck  of  an  American  vessel, 
or  taken  shelter  under  the  segis  of  our  national  flag.  While 
yet  a  prisoner  on  parole  in  the  dominions  of  the  Sultan,  he 
addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Marsh,  our  representative  at  Con 
stantinople,  foreshadowing  all  his  subsequent  proceedings. 
In  that  letter,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  define  a  new  line  of 
policy  for  the  United  States,  and  to  announce  his  conviction, 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  our  government  and  our.  people  to 
cast  away  that  system  of  neutrality,  which  had  been  so  fruitful 
of  peace  and  prosperity,  and  make  war  upon  the  govern 
ments  of  Europe  on  behalf  of  the  struggling  peoples. 

This  letter,  which  was  at  the  time  published  throughout 
the  United  States,  should  have  opened  the  eyes  of  the  people 
to  a  correct  view  of  his  intentions.  But  it  did  not  have  that 
effect ;  and  his  whole  career,  while  with  us,  was  but  a  reitera 
tion  of  the  theory  therein  expressed.  He  came  to  the  United 

States  with  no   false  pretensions.      In  his  first  speech his 

reply  to  the  Mayor  of  New  York,  at  Castle  Garden,  Kossuth 
unequivocally  declared  that  he  should  ask  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  not  their  sympathies  alone,  but  "  material 
aid,"  for  the  independence  of  Hungary.  Could  he  have 
been  at  that  moment  undeceived ;  could  he  have  been 
assured  that  the  United  States  would  not  abandon  their 
system  of  neutrality,  the  whole  aspect  of  his  mission  would 
have  been  changed.  But,  misled  by  hollow-hearted  dema 
gogues,  who  expected,  in  the  exhibition  of  a  feigned  sym- 

9 


194  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

pathy,  to  secure  to  themselves  and  their  parties  the  united 
support  of  the  Red  Republicans,  he  was  permitted  to  remain  a 
victim  to  this  error  until,  after  a  long  series  of  ovations,  he 
stood  in  the  death-chamber  of  "  the  sage  of  Ashland."  There 
he  encountered  the  withered  frame  but  the  undaunted  spirit 
of  the  American  patriot.  In  that  presence,  the  stern  Hun 
garian  quailed  before  the  invincible  truth.  Standing  upon 
the  threshold  of  eternity— spared,  as  it  seemed,  a  few  brief 
days  of  mortal  life  for  this  emergency  of  his  country,  HENRY 
CLAY  revealed  to  the  perception  of  the  misguided  exile  the 
fixed  and  irrevocable  policy  of  the  United  States— non 
intervention. 

"  No  greater  calamity,"  said  Mr.  Clay,  "  could  befall  this 

government  than  the  doctrines  of  intervention  proposed  by 

M.  Kossuth."     He,  therefore,  earnestly  deprecated  any  such 

policy.     The  vital  principle  of  this  country,  he  said,  rested 

upon  its  republican  character,  as  seen  in  the  capacity  of  the 

people  for  self-government,  and  in  its  practice  of  confining  its 

action  to  its  own  duties.     Our  example  is  one  of  Christian 

progress,  and  the  United  States,  as  the  only  living  Republic, 

and   example   of  man's   capability  for  self-government,  was 

bound  to  encourage  progress  and  prosperity  on  this  continent. 

A.11  this  would  be  endangered  and  destroyed  by  foreign  wars, 

and  with    them    all   hopes   of  free  institutions.     The  reply 

of  Mr.  Clay   to  Kossuth  will    be   found   at    length    in    the 

Appendix  to  this  volume. 

But  Kossuth  was  the  victim  of  yet  another  error,  equally 
incompatible  with  that  degree  of  intelligence  and  political 
sagacity  which  had  been  accorded  to  him.  He  individual- 


KOSSUTH'S  APPEAL  TO  THE  GERMANS.  195 

ized  the  American  people  and  the  American  government  as 
distinct  powers,  possessing  distinct  and   separate   interests. 
An  idea  so  absurd  was  inexcusable  in  one  claiming  to  be  so 
well  versed  in  the  economy  of  nations  ;  yet,  unwilling  to  give 
up  his  hope  of  American  intervention,  he  did  not  cease  to 
entertain  the  idea  that,  by  arousing  the  sympathies  of  the 
people,  and  enlisting  them  to  his  views,  he  could  command 
the  favorable  action  of  the  government.     His  appeals  to  the 
Germans,  both  in  public  and  by  a  secret  circular,*  urging 
them,  by  the  power  of  their  suffrages,  to  compel  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  to  adopt  his  policy  of  intervention, 
was  one  of  the  fruits  of  that  idea.     This  may  have  been  the 
result  of  his  disappointments ;  and  that,  failing  to  enlist  the 
cooperation  of  the  government  to  his  plans,  he  adopted  the 
European  method,  and  appealed  to  the  popular  heart.     His 
manifesto  to  the  Germans  was  certainly  in  contradiction  of 
his  previously-expressed  views,  because,  while  in  New  York, 
on   one   of    those   festal   occasions    at   which   he    was   the 
honored,  only  guest,  Kossuth,  as  usual,  addressed  the  assem 
bly.     When  he  had  concluded  his  address,  an  Irishman  arose 
and  expressed  his  surprise,  that  the  Magyar  had  not  alluded 
to  his  countrymen,   "notwithstanding  there   were  of  them, 
7,500,000  in  the  United  States."     To  this  Kossuth  replied,  in 
these  words : 

"  GENTLEMEN  : 

"  I  beg  leave  to  tender  my  thanks  for  the  sentiments  and 
feelings  of  sympathy  which  the  gentleman  has  expressed  ;  but  he 
was  pleased  to  remark  that,  in  my  humble  speech,  I  did  not  say  a 

*  This  circular  will  be  found  at  length  in  the  Appendix. 


196       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

word  about  Irishmen.  I  feel  it  ray  duty  to  explain  why  I  did  not. 
On  the  first  step  which  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  put  on  the  glorious 
shores  of  the  United  States,  I  declared  that,  claiming  for  my  own 
country  the  sovereign  right  of  every  nation  of  the  world,  to  dispose 
of  its  own  domestic  concerns,  I,  during  my  stay  here  in  the  United 
States,  would  feel  it  my  duty  to  respect  the  same  principle  ;  conse 
quently,  not  to  address  myself  to  whatever  single  distinction  of  birth 
—to  whatever  single  party— but  to  address  the  united  people  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  I  was  and  am  convinced,  that  when  I  addressed 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  I  addressed  every  man  who,  proud 
of  his  own  freedom,  feels  a  sympathy  for  the  principle  of  freedom  in 
those  who  are  oppressed.  I  believe  that  there  is  the  world  in  the 
United  States,  which  embraces  every  man  who  has  the  high  honor 
and  immense  benefit  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States;  and  that 
the  world  is  the  people  of  the  United  States.  I  know  no  Irishman 
—I  know  no  Anglo- Saxon— I  know  no  Germans,  here,  but  I  know 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  and,  with  these  words,  address 
them,  and  ask  for  their  general  support." 

Nothing  could  be  more  chaste  and  appropriate  than  this 
brief  reply,  yet  he  did  afterwards  depart  from  the  purpose 
therein  expressed,  and,  most  offensively,  appeal  to  the 
distinctive  German  character  and  predilections. 

Kossnth  was  also  inconsistent  in  his  professions.  The 
world  knew  him  at  first,  only,  as  a  leader  in  the  Hungarian 
revolution  against  the  authority  of  the  House  of  Hapsburgh. 
The  ostensible  purpose  of  that  revolution  was  the  restoration 
of  Hungarian  independence ;  but,  to  this  day,  it  does  not 
clearly  appear  whether,  in  case  of  success,  it  was  the  inten 
tion  of  Kossuth  to  restore  the  "  Iron  Crown  "  of  his  father 
land,  or  give  to  his  people  the  advantages  of  a  popular 


CHARACTER    OF    KOSSUTH.  197 

government.     In  America  he  spoke  as  a  republican ;  but  in 
England  he  spoke  as  a  monarchist. 

The  history  of  this  man  is  that  of  one  who  is  ambitious, 
but  erratic ;  of  one  whose  mind  is  capable  of  projecting 
great  deeds,  but  too  unbalanced  to  accomplish  them ;  of  one 
who  would  be  great  and  virtuous,  if  greatness  would  follow 
the  virtuous  intent;  yet  who  would  be  great  even  at  the 
sacrifice  of  virtue,  if  virtue  fail  to  accomplish  his  desires. 
He  would  prefer  to  be  called  great  and  good;  but  to  be 
great  was  his  ambition.  His  misfortunes  and  his  eloquence 
gave  him  his  immense  popularity  out  of  his  own  land ;  a 
popularity  which,  if  it  had  been  husbanded  with  wisdom  and 
deliberation,  might  have  carried  him  well  forward  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  design;  but,  like  a  wayward  child, 
spoiled  with  over-kindness,  he  cast  the  golden  opportunity 
away. 


198       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

STATE   RIGHTS — SLAVERY. 

"In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our  Union,  it  occurs  as  a  mat 
ter  of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should  have  been  furnished  for  charac 
terizing  parties  by  geographical  discriminations." 

GKO.  WASHINGTON. 

WHEN  American  Republicanism  was  in  its  chrysalis,  or 
transition  state,  and  while  its  destiny  was  suspended  between 
the  extremes  of  monarchy  and  popular  sovereignty,  one  -of 
the  first  important  elements  of  interest  was  that  of  social 
independence  among  the  several  colonies  and  common 
wealths.  Emerging  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution  from  a 
condition  rather  of  servitude  to,  than  dependency  upon,  the 
British  Crown ;  and  with  a  distinct  remembrance  of  the 
imperative  inflictions  of  the  parent  government,  whose 
authority  they  had  just  cast  aside,  the  people  were  naturally 
jealous  of  any  positive  centralization  of  power  in  the  reor 
ganization  of  their  system  of  public  policy.  With  this 
feeling  prevalent,  the  construction  of  a  constitution  became 
the  theme  of  universal  anxiety,  and  a  work  of  critical  respon 
sibility.  But,  in  addition  to  this,  there  was  yet  another 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  establishing  a  comprehensive  and  har- 


THE    FIRST    GREAT    COMPROMISE.  199 

monious  constitution,  growing  out  of  a  diversity  of  geogra 
phical  interests.  The  commercial  necessities  of  extreme 
localities  were  found  to  be  as  remote  as  the  localities  them 
selves ;  and  through  the  arbitrary  demands  of  climate,  the 
social  habits  and  customs,  and  the  economy  of  labor,  were 
entirely  and  irretrievably  dissimilar.  Thus,  a  people  tho 
roughly  united  in  political  sentiment  and  political  interest, 
were  as  utterly  divided  in  their  local  and  social  necessities. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  plain  that  a  constitution 
which  should  be  found  to  invade  the  local  necessities  of  any 
portion  of  the  embryo  nation,  would  fail  to  receive  the  con 
currence  of  the  people,  and  result  in  animosities  prejudicial, 
and,  perhaps,  fatal  to  the  harmony  of  the  Confederation.  It 
became  apparent  that  the  Constitution  must  be  framed,  not 
only  in  a  conciliatory  spirit  of  compromise,  but  on  a  basis  of 
the  utmost  liberality  toward  the  domestic  interests  of  the 
several  States.  The  great  conflicting  geographical  interests 
were,  therefore,  called  upon  to  surrender  a  portion  of  their 
favorite  notions  of  policy  for  the  general  good,  and  the 
several  States,  while  they  surrendered  to  the  General  Govern 
ment  the  power  of  controlling  the  foreign  and  domestic 
policy  of  the  nation — to  regulate  its  commerce,  coin  money, 
establish  post-offices  and  post-roads,  to'  declare  war,  to  support 
an  army  and  a  navy,  to  regulate  the  distribution  of  the  pub 
lic  lands,  to  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and, 
in  fine,  to  exercise  all  the  functions  of  a  free  and  distinct 
nationality — yet  retained  within  themselves  certain  sovereign 
and  inalienable  rights,  which  were  deemed  to  be  essential  to 
their  several  domestic  necessities,  and  not  incompatible  with 


200  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

the  duties  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  nation,  or  the  rights 
of  individual  States. 

On  this  basis  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
framed,  and  American  Republicanism  stood  forth  the  paragon 
of  social  governments.  Like  Minerva,  as  she  sprung  from 
the  brain  of  Jupiter,  the  Republic  emerged  in  an  instant,  as 
it  were,  invincible  and  mature. 

The  rights  reserved  to  the  States  by  the  compromises  of 
the  Constitution  were  of  a  domestic  or  local  character  solely. 
The  several  States  took  upon  themselves  the  condition  of 
separate  and  distinct  families,  each  family  constituting  an 
absolute  component  of  a  complete  society,  governed  by 
general  laws,  the  family  retaining  within  itself  the  manage 
ment  of  its  own  household,  in  matters  purely  local.  All  sub 
jects  relating  to  the  General  Government  were  surrendered 
into  the  hands  of  the  General  Government ;  each  State  pos 
sessing  a  voice  in  the  management  of  the  public  policy  of  the 
nation  only  through  the  system  of  representation.  Each 
State  also  conceded  to  the  neighboring  States  the  common 
right  to  an  uninterrupted  and  peaceable  management  of  their 
own  affairs,  the  enjoyment  of  their  own  opinions  and 
customs,  and  the  enactment  and  execution  of  their  own  laws, 
provided  that  those  laws  should  be  made  consistent  with  the 
Constitution  of  the  Confederacy,  and  in  unison  with  the  rights 
and  prerogatives  of  the  individual  States  and  their  citizens. 

This  was  the  first  great  compromise  ever  entered  upon  by 
the  people  of  the  United  States — a  compromise  remarkable 
alike  for  the  fraternal  spirit  in  which  it  was  accomplished 
and  the  unprecedented  glory  of  its  results.  It  enunciated 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    SLAVERY.  201 

an  untried  and  perfect  principle  in  the  science  of  social 
government;  it  signed  and  sealed  the  charter  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  and  it  reared  an  example  of  popular  sove 
reignty,  worthy  of  the  emulation  of  all  mankind. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  circumstance  that  the  men  who,  at  the 
present  day,  denounce  the  violation  of  the  Missouri  Compro 
mise  of  1820,  are  themselves  striving  to  violate  this  great 
compromise,  which,  in  1789,  confirmed  the  Union  of  these 
States,  and  pronounced  them  one  nation,  one  government, 
one  people. 

Among  the  rights  thus  reserved,  and  one  in  which  every 
State  participated  to  some  degree,  at  the  period  of  the 
Revolution,  was  the  right  to  retain  the  institution  of  African 
slavery,  although  Congress  was  empowered  to  prohibit  the 
importation  of  slaves  after  the  year  1808.  The  institution 
had  been  fastened  upon  the  soil  of  the  colonies  by  the  parent 
government,  and  the  slaves  held  by  individuals  under  British 
laws,  before  the  Revolution,  were  confirmed  as  the  property 
of  those  individuals,  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
United  States,  after  the  Revolution.  This  proprietary  right 
was  re-affirmed  by  the  local  laws  of  the  States  severally,  and, 
with  the  right  of  possession,  was  involved  the  further  right  to 
sell  or  purchase. 

The  right  to  entertain  the  institution  of  slavery  was  a 
reserved,  not  a  mere  permissive  right.  The  States  entertaining 
the  institution  held,  within  themselves,  severally,  the  sove 
reign  power  to  abolish  it  at  their  pleasure,  within  their  own 
jurisdiction,  and  at  their  pleasure  to  restore  it.  The  institu 
tion  is,  therefore  one  of  a  local  or  domestic  character, 

9* 


202        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

beyond  the  reach  or  control  of  the  General  Government, 
except  so  far  as  relates  to  the  conceded  authority  to  suppress 
the  importation  of  slaves  after  a  stated  period,  and  to  compel 
the  restoration  of  fugitives  from  one  State  to  another.  It  is 
also  equally  beyond  the  control  of  any  other  State  than  the 
one  in  which  it  exists  by  the  local  laws,  and  any  interference 
with  the  institution  where  it  so  exists,  by  another  State,  or  by 
the  people  of  another  State,  must  be  in  direct  violation  of 
that  neutrality  of  interest  so  solemnly  guaranteed  by  the 
great  national  compromise. 

The  States  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  Union,  finding 
the  institution  unprofitable,  very  naturally  adopted  the  sug 
gestion  of  a  wise  policy,  and  abolished  it  from  their  soil  as 
speedily  as  the  interests  of  individual  owners  would  permit ; 
and,  in  order  to  hasten  the  'event,  large  numbers  of  slaves 
were  sold  by  their  owners,  at  the  North,  to  those  who  had 
more  profitable  employments  for  them,  at  the  South — thus 
perpetuating  the  bondage  of  the  slave,  while  in  the  act  of 
abolishing  the  institution  of  slavery.  The  morale  of  the  pro 
cedure  seems  to  have  been  one  of  dollars  and  cents,  rather 
than  a  question  of  right  and  wrong.  It  would  be  well  if  the 
political  humanitarians  (?)  of  the  North  would  remember 
this  circumstance  while  clamoring  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  at  the  South.  Free  territory,  so  called,  is  free  terri 
tory  only  so  long  as  the  people  who  inhabit  it  elect  that  it 
shall  be  so,  and  whenever  the  people  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  or  Massachusetts,  or  Connecticut  shall  elect  to  restore 
the  institution  of  slavery  Avithin  their  borders,  they  will 
insist  upon  their  reserved  right  to  do  so,  and  justly  too,  as 


STATE    SOVEREIGNTY.  203 

tenaciously  as  South  Carolina  or  Georgia  now  insist  on  their 
right  to  the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  their  election. 

In  a  political  view,  the  question  of  slavery  is  not  an  open 
question.  We  may  vote  it  from  our  own  State  borders,  but 
we  cannot  vote  it  from  the  territory  of  a  sister  State,  without 
perpetrating  a  broad  and  distinct  violation  of  the  principle  of 
State  sovereignty,  and  subjecting  ourselves  to  the  endurance 
of  retaliatory  inflictions  whenever  a  majority  of  the  States 
may  see  fit  to  impose  them  upon  us.  As  well  may  the 
States  of  the  South  enforce  the  institution  of  slavery  upon 
the  States  of  the  North,  through  a  preponderating  majority 
in  Congress,  as  that  the  North  should  enforce  the  South  to 
abandon  it ;  the  principle  is  the  same,  the  right  to  do  so  is 
equal,  and  the  process  of  accomplishment  must  be  through 
the  same  channel.  But  neither  of  these  results  can  be 
attained  without  ignoring  the  just  compromises  of  the  Union, 
and  removing  the  foundation-stones  of  the  Republic.  It 
would  lead  to  an  interminable  warfare  of  local  interests  and 
local  prejudices.  Let  the  barrier  of  State  sovereignty  be  once 
broken  down,  and  causes  of  contention  would  be  multiplied 
an  hundred  fold.  The  conflicts  of  individual  States,  like  those 
of  the  South  American  confederacies  would  be  unceasing, 
and  in  the  vortex  of  anarchy  thus  set  in  motion,  the  arm  of  the 
General  Government  would  fall  powerless.  A  total,  and  open 
dissolution  of  that  Union,  distinctly  avowed,  and  embodying 
the  free  States  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  slave  States  on  the 
other,  with  all  its  repulsive  and  disloyal  features,  would  be  a 
condition  far  preferable  to  that  national  chaos  which  would 
be  the  certain  fruit  of  a  violation  of  the  great  principle  of 


204  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

State  sovereignty.  The  political  abolitionist,  who  seeks  upon 
free  soil,,  to  disturb  the  domestic  institutions  of  other  States? 
is  no  less  than  a  political  incendiary  !  He  would  apply  the 
blazing  torch  to  the  great  temple  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  and  like  Nero,  rejoice  over  the  conflagration ! 

But  all  this  is  apart  from  the  abstract  subject  of  slavery. 
Our  national  policy  does  not  permit  us  to  deal  particularly 
with  the  question  of  right  and  wrong  on  the  subject,  except 
within  our  respective  State  sovereignties.  In  those  States 
where  slavery  does  not  exist,  we  may  treat  the  subject  in  its 
moral  aspect  only,  but  in  that  aspect  we  may  discuss  it  fully, 
freely,  and  unreservedly.  If  it  is  an  institution  repulsive  to 
our  conscience  we  may  so  declare  it,  and,  by  every  element 
of  moral  and  religious  suasion,  persuade  those  who  entertain 
it  to  abandon  it.  But  the  people  of  the  free  States  have  no 
political  responsibility  resting  upon  them  in  the  matter,  nor 
do  they  possess  any  coercive  power  over  it.  Whether  they 
are  under  a  moral  responsibility  or  not,  is  entirely  a  matter  of 
conscience  with  each  individual  So  far  as  their  political 
power  extends  they  have  cleared  their  skirts  by  abolishing 
it  from  their  borders  and  each  man  is  left  to  himself  to 
determine  whether  or  not  it  is  his  moral  or  religious  duty  to 
go  further  and  persuade  his  fellow  citizens  of  other  States 
to  do  as  he  has  done  at  home. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  slavery  is  the  result  of 
natural  laws.  But  the  laws  of  nature  do  not  always  accord 
with  what  our  moral  and  religious  conscience  declares  to  be 
right.  The  act  of  adultery,  for  example,  and  the  act  of  theft, 
are  the  results  of  natural  laws,  instincts,  or  necessities,  yet  the 


THE    BASIS    OF    SLAVERY.  205 

moral  and  religious  sentiments  revolt  against  them.  The 
laws  of  Christianity,  civilization,  and  common  decency  are  ^ 
opposed  in  this  to  the  laws  of  nature.  The  child  born  out 
of  wedlock  is,  in  law,  denominated  a  natural  child,  or  a  child 
born  under  the  natural  law  ;  yet  the  poor  unoffending  off 
spring  of  nature  is  branded  with  disgrace  and  the  mark  of 
infamy  is  set  upon  him,  by  the  laws  of  moral  and  religious 
conscience.  Thus  it  is  with  slavery,  in  the  view  of  those°who 
deprecate  it,  and  like  all  other  themes  in  ethical  science,  the.*, 
more  remote  we  are  from  it,  and  the  less  we  are  accustomed 
to  it,  the  more  repulsive  it  appears  to  us.  In  matters  of  this 
nature  it  is  not  "  distance  "  that  "  lends  enchantment  to  the 


view/ 


Slavery  is  the  offspring  of  that  principle  in  nature  which 
gives  supremacy  to  mind  over  matter— and  to  the  superior 
over  the  inferior.     It  may  be  an  act  of  ferocious  cruelty,  in 
our  view,  for  the  wolf  to  gorge  himself  upon  the  palpitating 
flesh  of  the  dying  lamb,  or  for  the  vulture  to  feed  upon  the 
dove.     If  so,  it  is  no  less  a  cruelty  in  man,  when  he  revels 
upon  similar  viands;  still  he  does  not  hesitate  to  draw  the 
keen  carver  through  the  juicy  sirloin,  or  to  garnish  his  table 
with  the  canvas-back  duck,  the  woodcock,  and  the  barn-yard 
chanticleer.     Even  so  it  may  be  an  act  of  cruelty  and  injustice 
in  a  race  of  superior  intelligence  to  enslave,  and  command  for 
its  own  purposes,  the  labor  of  a  race  of  inferior  intelligence ; 
yet  it  is  the  result  of  natural  laws.     If  it  be  a  wrong,  how 
ever,  it  is  a  wrong  without  limit,  because  an  actual  wrong  is 
not  susceptible  of  compromise— it  is  a  wrong  based  upon 
some  fixed  principle— not  to  be  measured  by  the  degree  of 


206  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

intelligence  in  the  slave,  but  by  bis  innate  or  natural  right  to 
be  free.     It  is  not  the  black  skin,  the  ungainly  form,  nor  the 
obtuse  intellect  that  shall  either  justify  his  bondage  or  plead 
for  his  emancipation— he  must  claim  the  latter  by  the  law 
of  personal  right.     If  it  be,  as  the  abolitionists  avow,  upon 
this  principle  alone  that  we  find  a  wrong  in  slavery,  the  same 
principle  must  be  universal  and  eternal,  and  it  will  apply  with 
equal  force  to  the  ox  and  the  horse  as  to  the  man,  because 
the  law  of  nature  is  the  same  in  either  case.     It  is  simply 
urging  one  principle  against  another,  the  principle  of  natural 
right  against   the   principle   of  natural   might,  a   rule    not 
generally  observed  by  mankind  either  by  races,  communities, 
or  as  individuals,  when  their  several  interests  are  at  stake. 
The  highest  law  usually  recognized   is  the.  law  of  power, 
whenever  that  law  can  be  enforced  with  safety  to  its  possessor. 
It  is  therefore,  folly  to  attempt  a  combat  with  the  institution 
of  slavery,   as  it   now   exists,  on  the  abstract  question   of 
natural  right.     The  owner  of  slave  property  possesses  a  legal 
right,  and  that,  for  his  purpose,  is  worth  at  least  twenty  of 
the  other.     But  there  is  a  nearer  and  a  more  practical  way 
to  relieve  our  consciences  and  eventually  remove  the  institu 
tion  from  the  soil  of  our  country. 

The  wrong  of  slaveYy  which  comes  nearest  to  the  heart  of 
the  freeman,  both  South  and  North,  is  a  social  wrong.  It 
grates  harshly  upon  the  best  sympathies  of  humanity  and 
casts  a  blight  on  the  progressive  genius  of  the  age.  If  the 
abolitionist  is  honest  he  will  confine  himself  to  this  view,  and 
make  his  appeals  to  the  sympathies,  or  if  you  please,  the 
interests  of  the  slave-owner,  rather  than  to  the  politician  and 


THE    EVILS    OF    SLAVERY.  207 

the  demagogue.  Threats,  imprecations,  and  foul  epithets,  avail 
nothing  so  long  as  the  slave-owner  has  the  bulwark  of  the 
Constitution,  the  laws  of  his  own  State,  and  the  ultimate  fiat 
of  the  supreme  court  as  his  aegis.  Every  political  assault 
upon  his  proprietary  character  is  purely  Quixotic;  it  is  a 
battle  with  a  windmill ;  it  can  make  no  other  impression 
than  that  of  confirming  him  in  his  legal  right,  and  drawing- 
more  closely  the  fetters  of  the  slave.  Convince  his  moral 
sympathies  and  his  interests  that  slavery  is  every  way  wrong, 
that  it  is  a  curse  alike  to  the  bondman  and  his  possessor — 
make  him  believe,  as  you  do,  that  it  is  a  burden  to  the  com 
munity  in  which  it  exists  ;  that  its  influence  is  enervating  to 
society ;  that  wherever  it  goes  it  carries  with  it  the  corrosion 
of  inactivity,  and  that  it  sows  the  seeds  of  imbecility  in  the 
moral  atmosphere  that  surrounds  it — show  him  that  it  para 
lyzes  the  energies  of  the  people,  disturbs  the  equilibrium  of 
society,  and  that  it  sweeps  away  that  healthy  distinction 
between  labor  and  capital  which  is  essential  to  the  develop 
ment  of  great  enterprises — lot  him  once  realize  that  it  is 
opposed  to  the  spirit  of  progress,  that  it  is  neither  inventive 
nor  suggestive,  but  that  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  morally  and 
physically  an  element  of  social  emasculation.  Accomplish 
this,  and  the  barriers  that  have  so  long  stood,  with  the 
solidity  of  adamant,  between  you  and  emancipation,  will 
crumble  at  your  touch,  and  fade  away  like  the  mists  of  the 
mornino-. 

G 

Armed  with  such  a  spirit  the  abolitionist  may  travel  on 
foot  from  Virginia  to  Texas,  and  cany  his  arguments  with 
him,  not  only  in  safety,  but  with  the  certainty  of  a  hospitable 


208        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

reception.  Heretofore,  instead  of  appealing,  the  abolitionist 
has  demanded  when  he  had  no  power  to  enforce— instead  of 
convincing-  he  has  exasperated,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence, 
instead  of  advancing  in  his  purpose,  he  has  been  driven  back ; 
slavery  has  steadily  increased  while  he  has  been  fighting  a 
shadow.  His  ground  has  been  untenable,  unnatural— he  has 
been  trying  for  twenty  years  to  catch  flies  with  vinegar, 
instead  of  using  molasses,  wondering  all  the  time,  in  the 
simplicity  of  his  heart,  why  it  is  that  the  game  eludes  him. 
The  solution  is  plain.  He  has  used  the  wrong  kind  of  bait. 

I  mean  to  apply  this  charitable  train  of  remarks  to  the 
honest  people  of  the  North,  who,  through  motives  of  a  pure 
philanthropy,  really  desire  to  witness  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
But  these  are  not  the  men  who  promote  a  political  agitation 
on  the  subject;  these  constitute  the  many,  the  agitators  are 
the  few.  Their  consciences  and  their  dreams  would  never 
have  been  disturbed  by  the  spirit  of  slavery,  had  not  the 
apparition  been  conjured  up  by  men  of  sinister  motives.  The 
question  of  slavery  has  ever  afforded  a  theme  for  the  dema 
gogue  when  all  other  themes  have  been  exhausted.  They 
who  make  a  trade  of  politics,  and  who  thirst  eternally  for 
place,  power,  and  emolument,  must  have  a  stimulating  theme 
to  sway  the  popular  mind,  and  when  the  great  political 
questions  and  measures  of  party  are  settled,  or  grown  stale 
and  insipid,  their  ingenuity  is  taxed  to  find  new  themes  for 
excitement,  new  aliment  for  the  popular  stomach.  Subjects 
which  appeal  to  the  sympathies  and  the  moral  sentiments  of 
man  are  avoided  by  statesmen  of  honor  and  talent,  because  of 
their  inflammable  nature.  It  is  only  the  man  of  small  mind,  of 


GREAT  MEX  AXD  SMALL  MEN.  209 

limited  intellect,  the  political  pettifogger,  who  resorts  to  them. 
Your  statesmen  of  real  talent  are  never  lono-  at  a  loss  for 

O 

legitimate  work  on  which  to  employ  the  popular  mind. 
From  the  suggestive  fountains  of  their  own  genius  they  draw 
topics  of  public  interest  and  public  necessity,  real  or  imagi 
nary,  but  never,  no,  never  will  the  patriotic  statesman  suggest 
themes  of  national  discord  for  popular  discussion. 

Our  ADAMS,  the  champion  of  the  right  of  petition our 

WEBSTER,  the  giant  expounder  and  defender  of  the  Constitu 
tion — our   CLAY,    the    stern    and    unwavering   advocate   of 
American  protection  and  internal  improvement— our  JACKSOX, 
the  Ajax  of  the  national  honor,  who,  in  tones  of  thunder, 
vowed  "the  Union  must  and  shall  be  preserved!"  these,  and 
many  more  whose  names  glorify  the  tablets  of  our  country's 
history,  these   never  stooped  so  low,  never  prostituted  tfceir 
talents  so  far,  never  compromised  their  own  patriotism,  or 
their  country's  peace   to   such   a   degree.      But   they   have 
passed  away,  the   conservative  power  of  their  great  minds  is 
withdrawn,  and  a  race  of  demagogues,  emulating  only  their 
renown,    sans   principle,    sans    talent,    sans   patriotism,    sans 
everything  but  ambition,  are   struggling  to  seize  upon  the 
helm  of  the  nation  !     These  men,  incapable  of  conceiving  or 
executing  a  noble  enterprise— and  unable  to  rally  their  parties 
through  the  ordinary  channels,  stoop  from  their  high  calling, 
and   the   commanding  altitude  of  the  statesman,   and  with 
whining,  canting,  hypocritical  appeals  to  the  moral  sentiments 
of  the  people,  kindle  the  scathing  fires  of  fanatical  rancor  and 
plunge  the  nation  into  a  war  of  ethics.     Brother  is  arrayed 
against  brother,  father  against  son,  State  against  State,  the 


210  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

North  against  the  South,  not  upon  questions  of  great  public 
policy,  involving  the  general  good,  but  upon  a  mere  abstract 
idea,  involving  the  question 'as  to  whether  the  institution  of 
slavery  is  right  or  wrong  in  the  sight  of  God ! 

This  is  a  theme  for  the  pulpit  and  the  consistory — a  labor 
of  the  churchman  and  the  philanthropist,  not  for  the  hustings 
or  the  politician.  Divest  the  subject  of  the  borrowed  political 
trappings  which  now  hang  about  it,  and  try  it  by  the  test  of 
conscience  and  ^religion.  Take  it  away  from  your  Se wards, 
your  AVeeds  and  your  Greeleys,  and  leave  it  to  the  eloquent 
artillery  of  your  Chapins,  your  Beechers,  and  your  Coxes. 
If  the  right  or  wrong  of  slavery  could  be  discussed  in  this 
wise,  upon  its  own  ground,  with  argument  instead  of 
vituperation,  aiming  at  conviction  rather  than  coercion,  its 
opponents  would  find  strong  allies  in  the  very  vortex,  the  hot 
bed  of  the  institution  itself. 

Philanthropy  has  nothing  to  gain,  but  our  country  has 
everything  to  lose  in  a  crusade  against  State  sovereignty  and 
individual  rights  and  possessions.  There  is  no  theme  upon 
which  human  nature  is  more  tenacious.  Men  and  States  will 
fight  upon  these  issues,  even  against  principle.  It  becomes 
with  them  a  point  of  honor  to  resist  the  aggression,  and 
their  argument  is  this,  We  will  settle  the  questions  of 
sovereignty  and  possession  first,  and  the  principle  afterwards. 

In  the  present  agitation  of  the  subject  of  slavery  as  a  politi 
cal  question,  by  people  at  the  North,  the  entire  people  of  the 
South  are  placed  on  the  defensive,  upon  the  broad  basis  of 
State  sovereignty,  and  the  legal  rights  of  individuals ;  and  thou 
sands  who  might  deprecate  slavery  in  its  moral  aspect,  will 


THE    IMMEDIATE    EVILS    OF    AGITATION.  211 

unite  with  others  in  resisting  the  attack  upon  their  local 
integrity,  and  their  social  rights  and  customs.  And  they  will 
resist  it  to  the  last — till  every  spark  of  national  sentiment  is 
absorbed  in  sectional  animosity,  till  the  name  of  "  country " 
becomes  a  by-word,  and  that  great  and  sublime  fabric  of 
patriotism,  the  UNIT»D  STATES  OF  AMERICA,  which  no  despo 
tism  could  awe,  and  no  combination  of  despotisms  subdue, 
torn  piecemeal  by  internal  discord,  has  fallen,  the  victim  of 
fraternal  hatred,  and  been  destroyed  under  the  fratricidal 
hands  of  its  own  children.  Such  is  its  ultimate  tendency,  but 
apart  from  this,  there  are  intermediate  results  of  grievous 
magnitude  and  importance. 

It  alienates  the  national  sentiments  of  the  people,  and 
destroys  that  harmony  of  intercourse  essential  to  the  general 
prosperity  and  social  happiness  of  our  citizens. 

It  encourages  fanaticism  and  bigotry,  and  affords  an 
unfailing  source  of  inflammatory  material  for  the  demagogue, 
both  at  the  North  and  the  South. 

It  perverts  the  purposes  oT legislation  from  measures  of  State 
policy  to  measures  of  conscience  and  ethics — combining  the 
elements  of  religion  with  politics. 

It  draws  millions  of  money  from  the  pockets  of  the  people 
to  pay  for  the  useless  and  protracted  debates  on  the  subject 
in  Congress — and  the  printing  of  speeches  which  are  never 
read. 

.  It  has  already  divided  the  Baptist  Church  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  into  two 
parts — a  Northern  Church  and  a  Southern  Church — a  Forcible 
illustration  of  the  deep-seated  hostility  already  engendered 


212       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

between  the  two  sections  of  our  country— the  men  of  the 
North  refusing  to  worship  at  the  same  altar  with  the  men  of 
the  South 

It  affords  a  theme  for  hostile  discussion  and  bitter  senti 
ment  among  people  who  should  be  more  amicably  and  more 
profitably  employed. 

These  are  among  the  immediate  results  of  a  discussion 
which  evolves  everything  of  evil,  and  nothing  of  good — it  is 
alike  unprofitable  and  dangerous.  Set  on  foot  by  men  of 
humane  motive,  it  has  been  seized  upon  by  political  tricksters, 
and  fomented  by  European  influences,  in  the  earnest  hope  that 
through  internal  agitation  they  may  subvert  what  they  can 
not  otherwise  overcome ;  viz.  our  powerful  and  happy  union 
of  States,  and  our  system  of  popular  government.  No  crisis 
has  ever  fallen  upon  our  country  which  more  especially 
demanded  the  exercise  of  a  stern  and  inflexible  patriotism 
among  the  people. 

I  shall  introduce  into  this  chapter  a  brief  extract  from  the 
opinion  of  Washington  on  this^ery  subject.  I  do  so  with 
every  reliance  on  his  wisdom  and  patriotism,  yet  with  a 
certain  sense  of  diffidence,  because  I  remember  that  when  the 
Hungarian,  Kossuth,  while  in  this  country,  controverted  some 
of  the  opinions  of  Washington,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to 
give  novel  interpretations  to  them,  assuring  the  American 
people  that  they  had  misunderstood  the  language  of  their 
own  great  statesman,  he  was  not  only  listened  to  with  pro 
found  deference,  but  actually  cheered  by  men  of  e.very  rank. 
The  opinions  of  Washington  were,  at  that  time,  secondary  to 
the  opinions  of  Louis  Kossuth.  It  may  be  that  at  this  day 


COUNTER    OPINIONS WASHINGTON    AND    GARRISON.       213 

his  opinions  are  secondary,  in  the  estimation  of  some,  to  those 
of  George  Thompson,*  Wendell  Phillips,  William  Lloyd 
Garrison,  and  the  like,  but  I  venture  to  give  them  notwith 
standing.  Applicable  to  this  theme,  and  coming  from  a 
fountain,  the  purity  of  which  no  man  has  dared  to  question, 
they  may  touch  a  dormant , chord  in  the  besom  of  some 
reader,  and  awaken  notes  and  emotions  of  patriotism,  which 
have  been  bound  in  silence  and  sleep  by  influences  inharmo 
nious  but  more  immediate. 

"  The  unity  of  government,  which  constitutes  you  one  people,  is 
also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so,  for  it  is  the  main  pillar  in  the 
edifice  of  your  real  independence— the  support  of  your  tranquillity  at 
home,  your  peace  abroad  ;  of  your  safety,  of  your  prosperity,  of  that 
very  liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize.  But,  as  it  is  easy  to  fore 
see  that,  from  different  causes  and  from  different  quarters,  much 
pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in  your 
minds  the  conviction  of  this  truth  ;  as  this  is  the  point  in  your  politi 
cal  fortress  against  which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external 
enemies  will  be  most  constantly  and  actively  (though  often  covertly 
and  insidiously)  directed,  it  is  of  infinite  moment  that  you  should 
properly  estimate  the  immense  value  of  your  national  Union  to  your  ' 
collective  and  individual  happiness;  that  you  should  cherish  a 
cordial,  habitual,  and  immovable  attachment  to  it  ;  accustoming 
yourself  to  think  and  speak  of  it  as  of  the  palladium  of  your  safety 
and  prosperity  ;  watching  for  its  preservation  with  jealous  anxiety  ; 
discountenancing  whatever  may  suggest  even  a  suspicion  that  it  can, 
in  any  event,  be  abandoned  ;  and  indignantly  frowning  upon  the 

*  George  Thompson,  a  member  of  the  British  Parliament,  has  been  one  of  the 
most  violent  abolitionists  in  the  United  States.  While  actually  a  member  of  Parlia 
ment  he  has  visitea  this  country  to  deliver  abolition  addresses  and  excite  sectional 
discord  between  the  North  and  the  South. 


214       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

first  dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country 
from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link  together 
its  various  parts." 

"  In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our  Union,  it 
occurs  as  a  matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should  have 
been  furnished  for  characterizing  parties  by  geographical  discrimina 
tions—Northern  and  Southern— Atlantic  and  Western;  whence  design 
ing  men  may  endeavor  to  excite  a  belief  that  there  is  a  real  differ 
ence  of  local  interests  and  views.  One  of  the  expedients  of  party  to 
acquire  influence  within  particular  districts,  is  to  misrepresent  the 
opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts.  You  cannot  shield  yourself  too 
much  against  the  jealousies  and  heart  burnings  which  spring  from 
these  misrepresentations ;  they  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other 
those  who  ought  to  be  bound  together  by  fraternal  affection." 

There  are  men  now  in  the  land  who  do  not  hesitate  to 
denounce  that  Union  which  Washington  characterizes  as 
"  the  main  pillar  of  our  independence,  our  tranquillity,  our 
peace,  our  safety,  our  prosperity,  nay  even  of  that  very  liberty 
which  we  so  highly  prize?  as  "  an  atrocious  bargain  "  and 
"  an  infamous  compact !" 

As  I  have  given  the  opinion  of  Washington  on  the  value 
of  the  Union,  it  is  but  fair  that  I  should  give  the  opinion  of  a 
person  of  much  influence  at  the  present  day,  on  the  same 
subject.  I  quote,  therefore,  from  a  speech  delivered  by 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  at  a  meeting  held  at  Jamaica,  Long 
Island,  in  the  month  of  August,  1855.  Mr.  Garrison,  in  the 
course  of  his  speech,  said : 

"  There  is  no  Union,  therefore,  I  say  down  with  it.  Union  is 
equality  ;  there  is  no  equality,  therefore  there  is  no  Union.  First  I 


SOPHISTRY    OF    THE    ABOLITIONIST.  215 

want  the  liberty  of  the  slave ;  let  everything  else  go  by  the  board. 
I  do  not  address  myself  to  the  slave-holders.  I  do  not  talk  to  them, 
they  are  incapable  of  an  argument ;  they  do  not  understand  argument ; 
they  are  insane  men.  We  shall  have  a  northern  republic  of  our  own 
Oh !  for  the  jubilee  to  come.  Then  we  shall  be  a  free  people,  and 
have  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God  showered  upon  our  heads." 

Now  this  Mr.  Garrison  is  either  sincere  or  insincere.  He 
professes  to  be  the  champion  of  emancipation  ;  he  professes  to 
labor  for  the  liberation  of  the  slave,  arid  in  the  same  speech 
he  went  so  far  as  to  say :  "  The  slaves  of  our  country  must 
and  shall  be  free ;  this  is  a  certain  thing."  If  he  is  sincere  in 
this  profession,  it  would  not  be  impertinent  to  inquire  how  he 
intends  to  free  the  slave  by  dissolving  the  Union  and 
establishing  a  "northern  republic?"  By  such  a  procedure  not 
a  slave  would  be  liberated,  and  he  knows  it ;  but,  on  the  con 
trary,  the  bonds  of  the  slave  would  be  more  closely  drawn. 
A  slave-holding  nation,  a  nation  recognizing  the  institution 
in  its  organic  law  would  be  established,  side  by  side  with  his 
"  northern  republic,"  and  all  the  moral  influences  which  may 
be  now  employed  in  favor  of  emancipation  would  be  shut  out 
for  ever.  Taking  Mr.  Garrison's  own  words,"  he  stands  self- 
convicted,  a  disunionist  and  not  an  abolitionist!  And  yet 
there  are  men  and  women  who  will  be  led  away  by  such 
frothy  and  treasonable  declamation  ! 

Now  if  the  institution  of  slavery  is,  as  I  have  shown,  pan 
oplied  in  a  vested  right,  and  solemnly  guaranteed  to  the 
several  States,  or  such  of  them  as  may  choose  to  entertain  it, 
and  if,  in  consequence  of  this  right,  every  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  "  free  States  "  to  abolish  it  from  other  States  has  proven 


216  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

futile,  any  similar  attempt  to  prevent  its  introduction  upon 
the  free  soil  of  any  of  the  territories  of  the  United  States 
must  prove,  indirectly,  equally  abortive;  because,  although 
Congress  possesses  the  power  to  refuse  the  admission  of  any 
such  territory  into  the  sisterhood  of  States,  with  a  constitution 
that  recognizes  slavery  as  one  of  its  domestic  institutions,  it 
cannot  prevent  any  State  adopting  such  a  constitution  after  it 
has  been  admitted  into  the  confederacy.  Thus,  if  any  Terri 
tory  applies  for  admission  as  a  slave  State,  and  is  refused  on 
that  account,  she  has  only  to  return,  remodel  her  constitution, 
omitting  the  slavery  clause,  apply  again,  and  be  admitted. 
This  accomplished,  she  may  assert  her  sovereign  right  as  a  free 
and  irresponsible  State,  re-enact  her  original  constitution,  and 
in  spite  of  Congress  and  all  other  powers,  save  her  own 
sovereign  will,  she  may  take  her  place  as  a  slave-holding  State 
in  the  confederacy  of  the  Union. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  have  been  more  than  once 
brought  to  the  painful  conviction  that  even  the  compromises 
of  the  Constitution  are  insufficient,  on  this  subject,  to  give 
peace  and  harmony  to  the  country.  As  the  Northern  States, 
one  by  one,  cast  away  the  institution  of  slavery  from  their 
borders,  and  as  the  States  of  the  South,  without  exception, 
retained  it,  it  became 'at  length  a  marked,  distinguishing  fea 
ture  between  the  local,  domestic  policies  of  the  two  extremes 
of  the  Union.  Thus  circumstanced,  it  afforded  a  pretext  for 
geographical  discriminations,  and  a  basis  for  sectional  ani 
mosities,  out  of  which  political  aspirants  might  hope  to  obtain 
an  advantage.  In  order  to  encourage,  and  mark  more  dis 
tinctly  an  imaginary  diversity  of  interests  in  the  two  sections, 


THE    MISSOURI    COMPROMISE.  217 

and  to  familiarize  the  popular  mind  with  the  idea  of  a  sec 
tional  individuality,  North  and  South,  every  means  within 
the  scope  of  the  imagination  have  been,  and  are  still,  employed. 
The  distinguishing  epithets,  "  Free  States,"  as  applied  to  one 
section,  and  "  Slave  States,"  as  applied  to  the  other,  were  not 
the  least  effectual  in  promoting  this  sense  of  individuality  in 
the  minds  of  the  people. 

Upon  this  pretext  the  struggle  for  sectional  power  and 
aggrandizement  commenced.  And  so  evenly  were  the  parties 
in  the  contest  balanced  — so  deep-seated  the  jealousy— so 
violent  the  raging  conflict  of  local  sentiment— the  one  party 
contending  furiously  against  any  further  acquisition  to  the 
political  power  of  the  South,  by  the  admission  of  new  States 
into  the  Union  with  slavery,  and  the  other  as  strenuously 
maintaining  the  principle  of  local  sovereignty,  and  the  right 
of  admission,  irrespective  of  that  feature  of  domestic  policy 
—that  all  nationality  of  sentiment  or  feeling  has  at  time3 
been  absorbed,  and  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  has  seemed 
inevitable. 

It  was  at  a  crisis  like  this  that  the  famous  act  known  as  the 
MISSOURI  COMPROMISE  was  conceived  arid  enacted.  The 
people  of  that  territory  having  applied  for  admission  into  the 
brotherhood  of  States,  presenting  a  constitution  recognizing 
the  institution  of  slavery,  was,  after  a  long  and  embittered 
struggle,  admitted  into  the  Union,  with  the  proviso  that  no 
more  slave  States  should  be  thereafter  admitted  north  of  the 
line  36°  30'.  This  compromise  stilled  for  a  time  the  sectional 
storm,  and  gave  a  temporary  peace  to  the  country. 

But  the  fate  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  exhibits  the  in- 

10 


218        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

stability  of  all  such  measures  as  are  left  to  the  vicissitudes  of 
sentiment,  the  venality  of  political  parties,  or  the  corrupt  pur 
poses,  even  of  the  government  itself.  It  proves  that  upon  the 
compromises  of  the  Constitution  alone,  rests  the  sovereign 
rights  of  the  people.  The  Missouri  Compromise,  the  creature 
of  one  Congress,  is  made  the  foot-ball  of  a  succeeding  Con 
gress,  and  the  executive  arm  of  the  nation  is  lent,  and  made 
an  instrument,  in  consummating  the  violation  of  the  national 
faith.  The  act  known  as  the  Missouri  Compromise,  passed 
by  Congress  in  1820,  was  vepealed  by  Congress  in  1854,  and 
the  act  repealing  it,  known  as  "  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
Act,"  bears  the  signature  of  Franklin  Pierce,  President  of  the 
United  States ! 

This  act  it  is  not  difficult  to  characterize  as  a  gross  and 
wanton  violation  of  the  national  integrity  ;  because,  although 
the  compromise  existed  only  by  the  frail  tenure  of  a  congres 
sional  act,  and,  like  any  other  act,  was  liable  to  repeal  when 
ever  necessity,  or  the  caprice  of  the  government  should  de 
mand  it,  yet  it  was,  from  its  very  surroundings,  and  the  circum 
stances  under  which  it  was  created,  of  a  nature  more  sacred 
than  any  ordinary  act  of  legislation.  It  partook,  so  to  speak, 
of  the  character  of  a  treaty.  It  was  a  pledge — a  promise — a 
solemn  guarantee  made  by  the  government  to  the  people,  and 
as  such  it  was  invested  with  peculiar  force  and  dignity. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  the  unceremonious  rupture 
of  such  a  pledge  should  have  aroused  the  indignation  of  a 
deceived  and  betrayed  people.  It  is  not  surprising  that  an 
outraged  public  sentiment  should  have  spoken  loudly  and 
forcibly  in  denunciation  of  so  foul  a  wrong,  or  that  the  men 


OP   THE    MISSODRI 


atow  from  Free 
State,,  T0,ed  for  the  repeal  n   -   ^/»r  Bepre,en,a,ira 


220       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

Again,  the  act  of  repeal  cannot,  with  truth,  be  characterized 
as  peculiarly  that  of   the   Southern  section  of  the  Union, 
because,  as  has  been  already  shown,  it  was  sustained  by  one 
half  of  the  senators,  and  by  about  one  third  of  the  Represen 
tatives  from  the  Free  States,  receiving  at  last,  the  sanction  of 
a  President  from  the  Free  States.    The  act  was  one  of  a  parti 
san,  rather  than  a  sectional  character.     This  fact  also  con 
tributes  to  the  difficulty  and  the  inutility  of  a  restoration, 
because,  having  employed  it  as  a  measure  of  partisan  policy, 
they  who  so  employed  it  will  be  compelled,  from  motives  of 
consistency  alone,  if  from  no  other,  to  stand  by  and  maintain 
it.     The  restoration  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  therefore, 
would  exist  only  to  be  again  repealed,  whenever  the  party 
opposed  to  it  may  reach  the  power  to  accomplish  that  repeal. 
Heart-burning  agitation  and  a   continuous  war  of  opinions 
between  the  North  and  the  South  would,  it  is  evident,  result 
from  such  a  course.     Every  public  measure  would  hinge  on 
that  one  idea.     The  popular  mind  would  be  diverted  from 
matters  of  national  import  into  the  channels  of  a  sectional 
feud.     The  elections  of  the  whole  country  would  be  deter 
mined  on  that  basis,  and  not  a  constable  would  be  chosen,  nor 
a  street  scavenger  appointed,  unless  it  should  be  known  that 
he  was  "  sound  "  on  the  Compromise  question. 

Besides,  it  is  a  question  of  serious  doubt,  whether  an  act 
like  that  establishing  the  Missouri  Compromise  line  can  consti 
tutionally  exist.  Or,  if  it  can  so  exist  as  applicable  to  the 
Territories,  its  powers  must  certainly  cease  the  moment  those 
Territories  are  elevated  to  the  position  and  dignity  of  free  and 
sovereign  States.  Its  effect,  therefore,  can  be  but  temporary, 


STATE  SOVEREIGNTY  INVIOLABLE  221 

or  continue  during  the  territorial  existence.  To  deny  this,  we 
must  advance  two  new  and  startling  propositions,  either  one 
of  which,  if  established,  would  be  sufficient  to  hurl  the  Union 
into  fragments.  The  first  of  these  propositions,  would  be  to 
the  effect  that  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States,  as  guaranteed 
by  the  Constitution,  do  not  apply  to  States  subsequently 
admitted  into  the  Union;  and  ths  second  would  be  to  the 
effect  that  Congress  has  power  to  regulate  the  domestic  con 
cerns  of  all  the  States. 

Such  would  be  the  effect  of  an  attempt  to  enforce  the  terms 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise  upon  any  new  State  formed  from 
a  Territory  over  which  those  terms  had  been  recognized  dur 
ing  the  territorial  existence,  or  from  any  other  Territory.  It 
would  be  to  assert  that  Congress  possesses  certain  powers 
over  .the  sovereignty  of  new  States  which  it  cannot  exercise 
over  the  original  States  of  the  confederacy ;  or,  maintaining 
the  principle  of  equality  among  the  States,  it  would  lead  to 
the  conclusion  that  Congress  possesses  the  power  to  direct 
the  domestic  concerns  of  any  and  every  State  in  the  Union. 
This,  no  man  is  willing  to  admit,  and  hence  the  utter  fal 
lacy  of  attempting  to  legislate  slavery  out  of  the  new  States 
against  the  will  of  the  citizens  of  those  States. 


222        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

POLITICAL  PARTIES. 

"  Here  runs  the  mountainous  and  craggy  ridge, 
That  tempts  Ambition.    On  the  summit  see 
The  seals  of  office  glitter  in  hia  eyes  ; 
He  climbs,  he  pants,  he  grasps  them  !    At  his  heels, 
Close  at  his  heels,  a  demagogue  ascends, 
And,  with  a  dext'rous  jerk,  soon  twists  him  down, 
And  wins  them — but  to  lose  them  in  his  tnrn." 

COWPKR. 

POLITICAL  parties  are  intrinsically  the  legitimate  offspring 
of  opinion.  They  exist  as  a  necessity,  and  when  founded  upon 
sound  principle,  they  are  valuable  as  eliciting  the  popular 
ideas  on  important  public  measures,  and  also  as  a  healthy 
balance  of  power  between  the  public  interest  and  tho  seduc 
tive  tendencies  of  office — the  one  party  operating  as  a  check 
upon  the  other.  The  legitimate,  adhesive  property  of  parties 
is  a  public  necessity  and  the  measures  applicable  to  that 
necessity;  hence,  when  the  necessity  is  past,  and  those 
measures  have  been  either  adopted  or  abandoned,  the  adhesive 
property  ceases  to  exist,  and  the  public  mind  is  restored  to  its 
natural,  social  equilibrium. 

But  in  the  managment  of  a  political  party  there  are  always 
a  few  men  who  have  at  stake  deep  personal  interests.  During 


HOW    PARTIES    ARE    SUSTAINED.  223 

the  contest  of  principle,  these  men  have  occupied  honorable 
and  lucrative  positions  in  the  public  service.  They  have  been 
presidents,  governors  of  States,  senators,  members  of  Con 
gress,  legislators,  mayors  of  cities,  aldermen  and  judges — or 
they  may  have  occupied  subordinate  positions  in  office, 
wherein  the  emolument  surpasses  the  honor — or  they  may 
have  been  only  seeking  after  these  several  stations  of  profit 
and  honor  without  obtaining  them. 

With  all  these  the  dissolution  of  a  party  is  fatal.  Having 
long  "  fed  at  the  public  crib,"  or  set  their  hearts  on  the  attain 
ment  of  support  from  that  source,  it  is  difficult  for  them  to  let 
go  their  possessions  or  their  anticipations.  The  destruction 
of  their  party  is  the  destruction  of  their  hopes,  and  it  is  only 
in  conformity  with  the  natural  law  of  self-preservation  that 
they  struggle  to  hold  the  material  of  their  party  together  for 
future  triumphs.  Finding  it  impossible  to  do  this  on  the  old 
issues,  they  resort  to  new  ones  which  they  designate  party 
measures.  If  they  are  shrewd  and  able,  they  will  adapt  these 
measures  to  some  feature  of  public  necessity  in  the  nation, 
and  make  them  consistent  with  their  former  doctrines.  By 
so  doing  they  may  for  a  time  keep  up  their  organizations  and 
rally  their  partisans  under  the  old  banner,  and  still  divide  the 
chances  of  success  with  their  opponents.  This  has  been  done 
from  the  establishment  of  our  government  to  the  present 
time. 

The  parties  originally  formed  in  the  United  States  were 
the  result  of  a  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  plan  upon  which 
the  new  government  should  be  formed  and  administered. 
Sifting  out  the  chaff,  this  was  the  basis  of  that  hostility  of 


224        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

sentiment  which  characterize  the  parties  of  our  young 
Republic.  The  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  was 
practically  a  settlement  of  that  question,  but  it  remained 
unsettled  in  theory,  and  parties  were  rallied  upon  the  original 
issue  long  after  popular  sentiment  had  settled  down  into  a 
satisfied  conviction,  in  the  enjoyments  which  the  constitution 
afforded.  The  "Democrats"  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
"Federalists"  on  the  other,  kept  up  their  hue  and  cry, 
although  neither  Democracy  nor  Federalism  existed,  or  were 
likely  to  exist  in  the  country. 

Even  to  the  present  day,  the  so-called  "  Democratic  party 
struggles  to  rally  its  partisan  host  under  a  variety  of  extra 
neous  issues,  but  with  nothing  in  fact  to  hold  it  together 
beyond  the  antiquity  of  its  empty  title.  In  this  matter  it  has 
been  more  successful  than  its  rival.  The  Federalist  leaders 
have,  with  their  party,  undergone  numerous  mutations  both 
in  their  professions  and  their  cognomen.  They  have  been 
best  known  of  late  years  as  "National  Republicans,"  and 
still  later  as  "Whigs,"  but  whatever  they  may  have  lost 
of  their  original  identity  they  have  gained  in  the  practical 
utility  and  patriotic  character  of  their  measures,  having 
always  advocated  the  protection  of  American  industry  and 
American  genius,  against  European  competition  or  what  is 
called  "  Free-trade ;"  and  also  the  development  of  the  internal 
resources  of  the  country  by  a  system  of  public  improvements 
at  the  expense  of  the  general  government.  Both  of  these 
measures  of  national  policy  have  been  opposed  by  the 
"  Democrats,"  with  all  the  virulence  of  partisan  rancor,  and 
these  issues,  together  with  the  question  of  finance,  involving 


THE    VENALITY    OF    PARTIES.  225 

the  existence  of  an  United  States  Bank,  hava  been  the  themes 
by  which  the  two  "  old  parties "  have  wheedled  the  people 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 

But  these  issues  at  length  grew  stale.  The  question  of 
finance  was  settled  by  the  establishment  of  the  sub-treasury,  and 
it  was  apparent  from  the  first,  to  every  statesman  of  talent, 
that  the  extreme  of  protection  and  the  extreme  of  free  trade, 
would  neither  of  them  be  of  practical  utility  to  the  country. 
The  people  at  length  caught  this  idea,  and,  as  a  natural  con 
sequence,  the  difficulty  of  holding  parties  together  was  greatly 
enhanced,  because,  say  what  we  may  about  party  ties,  the 
popular  mind  of  the  United  States  acts,  as  a  general  rule, 
upon  conviction,  and  upon  conviction  only.  Conscientious  in 
their  attachment  to  the  measures  of  party,  they  cling  tena 
ciously  to  those  measures  until  their  object  is  accomplished 
or  by  common  consent  abandoned,  and  when  either  of  these 
results  have  been  consummated,  it  requires  more  than  the 
prestige  of  a  mere  name  to  bind  them  to  their  party  affilia 
tions.  Veneration  for  old  attachments,  and  the  social 
influences  which  grow  up  among  men  long  associated  either 
in  public  or  private  duties,  go  far  to  fasten  the  bond  of  unity 
and  hold  the  friable  components  of  a  party  together,  yet  it  is 
more  difficult  for  men  of  honest  motive  to  act  against  their 
solemn  convictions  of  right  and  wrong. 

For  many  years  past  the  political  organizations  of  our 
country  have  been  held  together  only  by  the  "cohesive 
attraction  of  public  plunder,"  and  the  measures  set  forth  to 
the  public  as  party  measures  have  been  but  the  subterfuges 
of  ambitious  men.  And  as  by  degrees  the  chains  of  partisan 

10* 


22  (>  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

attachment  became  gradually  looser,  and  the  difficulty  of 
binding  free  men  in  "  the  traces  "  without  the  existence  of  any 
apparent  public  necessity,  increased,  the  stratagems  of  the 
designing  became  less  scrupulous  and  more  varied.  Driven 
to  the  extreme  of  desperation,  they  have  stooped  to  the  lowest 
acts  of  demagoguery,  and  pandered  to  the  deepest  vices  and 
the  most  dangerous  influences.  Their  contests  have  been 
like  the  contests  of  the  freebooter,  a  war  for  the  spoils. 

When  political  parties  arrive  at  this  crisis  they  part  with 
their  legitimate  character,  and  become  incumbrances  on  the 
body  politic ;  mere  festering  excrescences  on  the  science  of 
government.  As  their  contests  are  but  forays  upon  the 
public  treasury,  each  party  recognizes  the  right  of  the  other 
to  enjoy  the  spoils  after  gaining  a  victory,  and  thus  the  con 
servative  and  purifying  balance  of  power  is  lost  and  the 
public  moneys  squandered.  An  economical  administration  is 
a  thing  to  be  talked  about  but  not  seen;  the  interests  of  society 
are  forgotten,  public  offices  are  multiplied,  and  salaries  are 
increased  to  feed  the  greedy  demands  of  clamorous  partisans ; 
peculations  on  the  treasury  are  winked  at,  and  in  order  to  sup 
ply  these  extraordinary  demands  the  taxes  must  be  increased. 
The  people  groan  under  the  burden,  yet  cling  to  their  parties, 
because  each  promises  "reform,"  until  at  last  corruption  is 
made  manifest  and  the  game  can  be  played  no  longer.  Men 
discover  that  they  have  been  held  by  artificial  ties  to  parties 
professing  great  though  effete  principles,  merely  as  a  cloak  to 
public  robbery  and  individual  aggrandizement,  and  they  can 
be  rallied  under  the  old  banners  no  longer. 

o 

The   old   parties   in   the   United   States  have   been   long 


EXTRAORDINARY    CONVERSIONS.  22*7 

approaching  this  crisis  in  their  history,  and  they  have  at 
length  reached  it.  The  climax  is  attained,  and  their  followers 
have  turned  their  backs  upon  them.  Utterly  disgusted  with 
the  venality  of  public  men,  the  honest  sentiment  of  the  people 
rises  in  the  majesty  of  moral  supremacy,  and  rebukes  those 
who  have  betrayed  it.  The  old  parties  have  been  broken, 
scattered  and  ground  to  powder  by  the  overwhelming  force 
of  public  sentiment,  yet  never  despairing,  never  at  a  loss  for 
some  expedient,  good  or  evil,  on  which  to  hang  their  hopes 
of  future  successes,  and  continued  plunder,  they  have  renewed 
their  machinations  in  new  directions.  Men  who  are  politicians 
by  birth,  education,  and  instinct,  have  been  suddenly  con 
verted  into  humanitarians!  Those  whose  sympathies  have 
hitherto  been  expended  only  on  defeated  partisans,  have  been 
softened  to  a  charitable  consideration  of  the  negro  ;  statesmen 
who  have  never  been  suspected  of  entertaining  an  excess  of 
the  Christian  virtues,  have  become  solemnly  convinced  of  the 
unchristian  character  of  that  "peculiar  institution"  of  the 
Southern  States. — Those,  too,  who  have  been  the  sternest 
advocates  of  "  State  rights "  have  evinced  a  most  earnest 
desire  to  superintend  the  affairs  of  the  people  of  Louisiana 
and  Kansas — in  a  word,  the  desperate  political  leaders  have 
as  a  last  resort,  become  abolitionists  and  free-soilers. 

And  they  have  given  an  importance  to  this  heart-burning 
topic,  which  its  originators  could  never  have  accomplished. 
They  have  applied  the  Herculean  shoulder  to  the  car  of  aboli 
tion  and  disunion,  which  had  long  been  fast  in  the  mire  of  pub 
lic  prejudice,  and  sent  it  forward  on  its  mission  of  civil  discord. 
They  have  given  vitality,  vigor,  activity  to  a  limping  demon, 


228        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

and  they  must  live  or  die  in  the  breath  of  his  nostrils.  The 
ancients  possessed  a  belief  that  certain  evil  spirits  were  easily 
raised,  but  that  the  sorcerer  who  conjured  them  from  the 
realms  of  darkness  possessed  no  power  to  send  them  home 
again,  and  was  consequently  forced  to  keep  them  employed, 
because,  although  they  would  obey  his  commands,  yet,  if  he 
failed  to  keep  their  devilish  propensities  occupied,  they  would 
turn  upon  him  and  destroy  him.  The  political  sorcerers  of 
our  country  have  raised  such  a  devil  in  the  spirit  of  abolition, 
and  they  have  not  the  power  to  lay  it  if  they  would.  If  it 
fails  of  employment,  they  fall.  Their  political  existence  is 
identified  with  it,  and  dependent  upon  its  activity,  and  how 
ever  the  country  may  be  distracted,  and  the  Union  shaken 
by  its  ravages,  they  will  continue  to  ply  it  with  evil  works. 
This  spirit  can  be  laid  only  by  the  united  energies  and 
patriotism  of  the  American  people.  Like  no  other  devil,  it 
professes  good  works ;  but  like  all  other  devils,  it  accom 
plishes  nothing  but  evil.  It  is  a  hypocrite,  a  fiction,  a  spirit 
without  a  soul.  Skulking  like  a  dastard  under  the  cloak  of 
humanity,  it  hurls  its  insidious  shafts  at  the  heart  of  the 
nation,  and  exults  at  every  groan  of  its  victim. 

When  we  see  statesmen  who  have  occupied  many  of  the 
most  responsible  positions,  following  in  the  wake  of  Wen 
dell  Phillips,  Fred  Douglass,  and  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  we 
are  forced  to  confess  that  nothing  but  the  sternest  convictions 
and  the  most  sincere  repentance  could  have  produced  a 
moral  wonder  of  such  magnitude.  The  partisan  leaders  of 
the  Southern  States  are  not  behindhand  in  expedients ;  and 
taking  their  cue  from  the  elastic  consciences  of  the  North, 


XORTII    AND    SOUTH.  229 

they  adapt  their  note  to  the  local  interests  of  their  section, 
and  sing  the  song  of  slavery  or  disunion,  and  thus,  under  the 
guidance  of  decaying  partisans,  the  North  of  our  country  is 
arrayed  against  the  South  of  our  country,  and  we  are  rapidly 
becoming    two   distinct    peoples!      This   deplorable    result 
grows  out  of  the  simple  fact,  that  the  ancient  parties  of  the 
country  having   outlived    the    purposes    of   their    existence, 
now  send  up  only  the  effluvia  of  decaying  mortality.     The 
beautiful  symmetry   of   their   construction  is  seen  no  more. 
The  watchful  eye  which  flashed  in  glances  of  terror  upon  ' 
the  foes  of  the  land,  is  sodden   and   spiritless.     The  heart 
which  once  beat  only  for  the  glory  of  the  nation  and  the 
happiness  of  the  people,  is  still,  pulseless,  and  cold  ;  and  the 
once  noble,  but  now  inanimate  forms,  festering  in  their  cere 
ments,  lie  repulsive  at  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  and  send 
forth  only  the  exhalations  of  decay.     Let  the  dead  carcases, 
with   all   their  pestilect  fragments,  be   entombed,  that  the 
nostrils  of  the  people  may  be  no  more  offended,  and  the 
equilibrium  and  peace  of  the  nation  be  restored. 


230  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  NATIVE  AMERICANS— THE  PARTY  OF  1834. 

"  Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land." 

SCOTT. 

AMONG  the  most  patriotic  men  of  the  United  States,  from 
the  time  of  Washington,  Silas  Dean,  and  Thomas  Jefferson, 
down  to  the  present  day,  there  has.  existed  a  deep  solicitude, 
amounting  at  times  to  an  actual  jealousy,  on  the  subject  of 
European  interference  in  American  affairs,  and  the  deleterious 
effects  of  imported  influences  upon  our  national  characteristics 
and  peculiar  institutions.  The  political  facilities  afforded  to 
foreigners  by  our  liberal  system  of  naturalization  and  suffrage, 
coupled  with  an  unprecedented  immigration,  have  been  well 
calculated  to  increase  rather  than  diminish  this  anxiety,  and 
efforts  have  from  time  to  time  been  made  to  check  the  seeming 
inroads  upon  our  prosperity  and  safety,  growing  out  of  these 
causes.  But  every  attempt  thus  made  has  been  met  with  the 
most  determined  hostility  by  the  old  partisan  leaders,  and 
however  warmly  the  popular  pulse  has  beaten  towards  the 
new  movement,  the  character,  objects  and  morale  of  the  effort 
h.ivo  been  so  misrepresented  and  vilified  as  to  have  effectually 


THE  AMERICAN  PARTY  OF  1834.  231 

withdrawn  from  it  every  prestige  of  success,  and  after  a  brief 
struggle  it  has  been  for  the  time  abandoned. 

The  avowed  motives  of  those  efforts  have  been,  first :  an 
amendment  of  the  laws  of  naturalization  in  such  manner 
as  to  extend  the  probationary  residence  of  aliens  to  twenty- 
one  years  as  the  first  qualification  of  citizenship ;  and, 
second :  an  abridgment  of  the  rapidly-increasing  political 
influence  of  the  Papal  power  in  the  United  States.  As  I 
have,  in  previous  chapters  of  this  work,  exhibited,  at  some 
length,  the  evidences  of  a  necessity  for  the  adoption  of  these 
salutary  measures  as  proposed  by  the  so-called  "  Native  Ame 
rican  Party,"  it  is  needless  to  recapitulate  them  in  this  place. 
Neither  one  nor  the  other  of  the  objects  above  mentioned  were 
in  themselves  hostile  to  the  interests  of  either  the  adopted 
citizens  or  the  resident  aliens  already  in  the  country,  because 
in  no  respect  were  their  rights  invaded,  or  their  prospective 
privileges  abridged  by  them,  and  the  men  who  urged  those 
measures  of  policy  upon  the  attention  of  the  country  were 
as  much  entitled  to  the  sympathy  and  cooperation  of  those 
classes,  as  to  the  sympathy  and  cooperation  of  the  native- 
born  citizens. 

The  interests  involved  in  the  adoption  of  the  American 
policy  were  universal,  because  the  interests  of  the  foreign 
resident  and  the  native  citizen  in  the  destiny  of  the  country 
are  identical.  If  the  American  people,  by  maintaining  their 
institutions  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  their  perfection, 
perpetuate  the  sources  of  their  own  happiness  and  prosperity, 
and  enable  themselves  to  transmit  the  same  elements  of  enjoy 
ment  to  their  children,  the  adopted  citizen  shares  equally  with 


232        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

them  in  the  result.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  social,  religious, 
and  political  privileges  of  the  American  people  are  to  be  by 
any  means  swept  away,  mutilated,  or  abridged,  the  adopted 
citizens  must  share  with  them  in  the  common  calamity. 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  when  the  foreign  residents  of 
the  United  States,  whether  naturalized  or  otherwise,  oppose 
the  measures  of  the  American  party,  they  do  no  less  than 
oppose  the  best  interests  of  themselves  and  their  posterity. 
They  have,  by  the  mere  act  of  immigration,  acquired  rights 
under  our  Constitution  which  cannot  be  taken  from  them. 
The  moment  they  set  their  feet  upon  our  soil  they  acquired 
the  right  to  become  citizens  by  naturalization,  and  in  the  act 
of  naturalization  they  are  invested  with  all  the  prerogatives 
of  the  native  citizen,  with  the  single  exception  that  they  can 
not  be  allowed  to  administer  the  government  of  the  country. 
These  rights,  acquired  under  a  solemn  compact,  are  sacred  to 
them  and  their  posterity  so  long  as  the  Republic,  with  its 
American  republican  institutions,  is  permitted  to  occupy  a 
place  on  the  scroll  of  nations.  The  Constitution  of  our 
country  is  as  much  the  charter  of  their  liberty  as  of  our  own, 
and  if  that  charter  is  ever  violated,  the  outrage  will  be  as 
fatal  to  the  interests  of  the  adopted  as  of  the  native  citizen. 

Some  of  the  foreign  population,  as  I  have  shown,  have 
already  expressed  their  determination  to  take  that  most  per 
fect  instrument  into  their  own  hands,  and  remodel  it  accord 
ing  to  their  agrarian  and  atheistical  notions,  but  this  only  shows 
that  we  have  already  too  many  politicians  of  that  stamp  in  the 
country,  and  proves  the  necessity  of  adopting  the  conservative 
American  policy. 


DENUNCIATION    OF    AMERICANS.  233 

But  it  has  ever  been  the  study  of  the  political  American 
gamblers,  to  misrepresent  the  motives  of  their  own  country 
men  in  this  simple  and  conservative  matter.     For  many  years 
past,  the  wire-pullers  of  each  of  the  organized  parties,  both 
Whigs  and  Democrats,  have  encouraged  foreigners  to  acquire 
and  exercise  their  political  privileges,  with  a  view  of  securing 
the  combined  foreign  vote  for  their  several  parties ;  and  in 
order  to  accomplish  this,  they  have  committed  themselves 
and  their  governments,  both  State  and  national,  to  the  imme 
diate  interests  and  ambition  of  foreigners,  by  pledges  and 
promises   of   appointments  to  public  offices,   and  even  the 
passage  of  laws  adapted  to  their  peculiar  wants  and  fancies- 
The  foreigners  had  become  so  numerous,  and  the  Eoman 
Catholics  were  found  to  be  so  clannish,  that  to  secure  their 
cooperation  at  an  election,  was  deemed  equivalent  to  success, 
so  well  equalized  were  the  forces  of  the  contending  parties. 
It  is  not  surprising,    therefore,    that   when   partisans   grew 
unscrupulous,  there  should  exist  between  them  a  spirit  of 
rivalry  in  fishing  for  this  foreign  influence;    or  that  each 
party  should  struggle,  by  excessive  concessions   and  liberal 
promises,  to  secure  so  valuable  an  ally. 

The  advent  of  a  party,  hostile  alike  to  the  corrupt  practices 
of  the  home  demagogue  and  to  the  concentration  of  a  power 
ful  foreign  element  in  the  political  arena,  was  naturally  the 
cause  of  intense  commotion  among  the  spoilsmen,  and  the 
party  itself  was  regarded  by  them  as  a  common  enemy 
They  laid  aside,  to  a  great  extent,  their  immediate  feuds,  and 
together,  like  good  friends,  set  to  work  belaboring  the 
intruder.  Their  first  step  was  to  poison  the  minds  of  the 


234       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

whole  foreign  population  against  the  American  policy,  and  to 
accomplish  this,  they  have  made  it  to  appear,  that  the  pur 
pose  of  the  American  party,  or  the  "  Natives,"  as  they  scur- 
rilously  denominated  them,  ioas  to  take  from  the  foreigner  his 
acquired  rights,  both  social  and  political.  They  went  even 
so  far  as  to  establish,  with  some  of  the  ignorant  adopted 
citizens,  a  credence  in  their  declaration,  that  if  the  "  Natives  " 
were  successful,  they  would  either  send  the  foreigners  all 
back  to  Europe,  or  else  "  hang  them  up  like  strings  of 
onions."  They  denounced  the  new  party  as  a  horde  of 
"  selfish,  persecuting  bigots ;"  as  "  narrow-minded  fanatics ;" 
as  "  a  party  with  one  idea,"  &c.,  &c.,  not  forgetting  to  inter 
lard  their  abuse  of  their  own  countrymen  with  copious 
adulations  of  foreigners.  In  fact,  their  pretended  solicitude 
for  those  classes  was  redoubled,  and  their  praises,  promises, 
and  pledges  were  lavished  upon  them  to  such  a  degree  that 
the  very  aliens,  at  length  becoming  impressed  with  an 
unwonted  opinion  of  their  own  talent,  interest,  and  impor 
tance,  united  in  the  crusade,  and  cried,  "  Down  with  the 

d d   Natives,"    as  lustily   as   any.     They  also   began  to 

dictate  terms  to  their  patrons,  and  to  demand  the  fulfillment 
of  promises.  The  political  sorcerers  discovered  that  they 
had  raised  one  of  those  imperturbable  spirits  which.  I  have 
before  alluded  to.  This  was  especially  the  case  with  the 
Roman  Catholics.  The  hierarchy  was  first  persuasive,  then 
pressing,  next  clamorous,  and  finally,  imperative. 

It  was  a  bitter  pill  to  the  austere  American  demagogues, 
thus  to  listen  to  dictation  from  those  whom  they  regarded  and 
used  only  as  instruments  for  their  own  advancement,  but  they 


WHAT    LED    TO    THE    AMERICAN     PARTY.  235 

were  forced  to  swallow  it.  They  had  gone  too  far  to  recede— 
the  raised  devil  could  not  be  laid  —  it  must  be  pacified,  and  in 
order  to  appease  it  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  New 
York  was  amended  in  such  a  way  as  to  render  a  foreign 
bishop  eligible  to  the  executive  chair  of  the  State  !  the  Holy 
Bible,  which  had  been  the  guide  of  our  forefathers,  was  cast 
out  of  the  public  schools  ;—  Roman  Catholic  teachers  were 
appointed  over  Protestant  scholars,  and  the  school-moneys 
contributed  by  Protestants  were  given  to  the  education  of 
Papists  in  their  own  anti-republican  seminaries.* 

As  the  oppressive  burden  of  a  large  foreign  population 
was  very  naturally  first  developed  to  an  offensive  degree  in 
the  larger  cities  of  the  sea-board,  in  consequence  of  the 
greater  numbers  there  congregated,  so  the  first  organized 
movements  to  counteract  their  influence  took  place  in 
those  cities.  In  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  New 
Orleans  and  other  cities,  their  effect  upon  the  social  and 
political  interests  of  the  people  became  intolerable.  The 
mechanic  was  crowded  from  his  workshop  by  the  cheap 

*  All  these  features  still  exist  in  the  State  of  New  York  as  monuments  of  the 
perfidy  of  her  rulers.  The  Romish  schools,  which  draw  upon  the  school-fund,  are 
cloaked  under  the  title  and  semblance  of  «  Orphan  Asylums."  The  character  of 
the  instruction  afforded,  and  the  bigotry  which  prevails  in  these  "Asylums" 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following.  In  the  year  1852,  the  Pope  issued  a  mandate 
on  the  subject  of  education,  the  purport  of  which  is  found  briefly  condensed  in  the 
Freeman's  Journal,  which  says  : 


* 

all,  and  in  all  thing,  are  OatiStf.  ttS?ff|J2£  T  ed«cat«l  ">  schools  where 
approved  faith  and  morals,  wher  the  instructor!  ^  ""^  Cfth°lic  teachers  °f 
in  conformity  with  and  aornm  •«,«£  i  h  *V  ,  n  .given  m  secular  science  shall  be 
where,  during  the  years  o"f  tS  •  ,t  f  v  «  £ell?lou8  teaching  of  the  church,  and 
*/  children  SSS  *  ""  ^  6Xp°Sed  to  the  ^mpany 


236        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

labor  of  European  competitors,  and  many  a  family  that  had 
lived  comfortably  on  the  proceeds  of  the  honest  industry  of 
the  husband  and  father,  was  driven  to  actual  want,  and  often 
forced  to  seek  subsistence  in  other  cities.  Taxation  was 
swelled  in  furnishing  a  support  to  the  thousands  of  indigent 
and  diseased  paupers,  who  were  conveyed  from  the  wharf  on 
which  they  landed  direct  to  the  alms-house,  or  the  refuge 
assigned  to  them  by  the  authorities.  The  streets  were  over 
run  with  imported  mendicants,  and  the  dwellings  of  the 
citizens  were  invaded  by  them  from  morning  till  evening. 
Crime  of  every  degree  was  increased  five-fold,  and  the  prisons 
were  peopled  with  exotic  felons.  The  spirit  of  drunkenness 
lurked  in  low  haunts  and  fetid  groggeries,  or  reeled  ob 
scenely  through  the  public  thoroughfares;  and  the  loose 
brawl  and  the  midnight  scream  usurped  the  places  of  order, 
decency,  and  sobriety.  These  were  the  social  aspects  of  an 
overgrown  foreign  populace. 

But  the  political  aspect  was  no  less  repulsive  and  oppres 
sive.  /  write  only  what  I  have  witnessed.  I  have  seen  bands 
of  foreign  bullies,  regularly  organized,  and  under  the  direction 
of  an  Irish  alderman,  placed  at  the  polls,  with  a  supply  of 
bludgeons  close-  at  hand>  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  Ame- 
cans  from  approaching  the  polls  to  exercise  their  birthright 
of  the  suffrage.  I  have  seen  that,  when  Americans  attempted 
to  enforce  their  right  to  enter  the  place  of  voting,  these 
foreign  bullies  have,  by  the  word  of  command,  seized  their 
bludgeons  and  beat  down  grey-haired  Americans  like  dogs  in 
the  highway  !  I  have  seen  foreigners,  the  most  illiterate,  and 
bloated  with  dissipation,  placed  in  the  responsible  office  of 


WHAT    LED    TO    THE    AMERICAN     PARTY.  23*7 

inspectors  at  elections,  and  made  the  judges  of  the  political 
rights  of  rnen  who  claimed  their  three  score  years  and  ten 
of  residence  on  their  native  American  soil ;  and  I  have  seen 
the  suffrage  right  of  these  old  citizens  challenged  by  the 
ignorant  and  besotted  refuse  of  European  municipalities, 
have  seen  the  most  talented  of  my  countrymen  made  to  give 
way,  and  stand  aside  to  make  room  for  the  ambitious  desires 
of  foreign  aspirants  to  public  office ;  and  I  have  seen  both 
the  enactment  and  the  execution  of .  laws  perverted  from 
justice  and  the  public  necessities,  to  feed  the  clamorous 
demand  of  imported  prejudices.  In  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
Americans  have  been  shot  down  in  cold  blood  by  foreigners  in 
ambush,  while  holding  a  peaceable  public  meeting  on  their 
own  soil,  in  one  of  the  public  places  of  the  city.  These 
men  had  dared  to  avow  themselves  AMERICANS,  and  in  favor 
of  an  American  policy,  and  they  paid  for  their  independent 
assertion  of  an  inborn  right,  with  the  price  of  their  blood ! 
Yes,  in  the  year  1844,  Americans  were  deliberately  murdered 
by  foreign  Roman  Catholics  in  the  public  streets  of  Phila 
delphia,  for  opinion's  sake  !  and  the  proud  flag  of  America 
was  at  the  same  time  torn  contemptuously  into  fragments  and 
trampled  to  the  earth  by  the  ignorant  and  superstitious 
minions  of  Rome  !  Ten  years  later,  viz.,  in  the  fall  of  1854, 
at  one  of  the  polling-places  in  Williamsburgh,  N.  Y.,  Ameri 
cans  were  not  permitted  to  approach  the  ballot-box  unless 
they  were  known  to  be  of  the  party  favorable  to  the  Irish, 
and,  in  attempting  to  do  so,  one  of  our  countrymen  was 
"brutally  murdered  with  bludgeons,  and  several  others  horri 
bly  beaten  and  mangled,  by  the  overwhelming  throngs  of 


238  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

Irishmen!  Again,  during  an  election  held  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  in  the  summer  of  1855,  Americans  were  shot  down  by 
foreigners,  who,  sheltering  themselves  in  their  houses,  delibe 
rately,  and  without  provocation,  levelled  their  deadly  weapons 
at  men  who  were  peacably  passing  along  the  streets,  and 
murdered  them  merely  because  they  were  Americans  ! 

It  was  from  elements  and  influences  like  these  that  the 
Native  American  Party  has,  of  late  years,  started  into  exist 
ence,  in  the  great  cities,  only  to  be  beaten  back  by  the  com 
bined  efforts  of  native  demagogues  and  imported  brutality. 
Yet  it  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  note  that,  in  all  these 
efforts,  the  intelligent  foreign  residents  and  adopted  citizens ; 
those  who  read  for  themselves  and  thus  obtain  a  correct 
view  of  facts,  have  been,  almost  without  exception,  the  advo 
cates  of  the  American  policy.  But  they  comprise  the  few, 
and  moreover,  they  are  not  the  kind  of  stuff  from  which  our 
party  leaders  have  been  accustomed  to  manufacture  voters  for 
a  political  emergency. 

Now  if  the  circumstances  to  which  I  have  briefly  referred, 
are  any  indication  of  what  Americans  and  Protestants  are  to 
expect  under  foreign  and  papal  rule,  then  certainly  the  law  of 
self-preservation,  the  first  law  implanted  by  the  Almighty 
in  every  human  breast,  if  no  other,  will  justify  us  in  the 
sight  of  the  world,  if  we  erect  between  ourselves  and  these 
modern  Goths  and  Vandals,  the  loftiest  barriers  of  political 

restraint. 

^ 

The  Native  Americans  have  never  yet  assailed  the  foreigner 
or  the  Romanist  because  of  either  his  birth  or  his  religion.  It 
is  only  against  their  moral  and  political  idiosyncrasies,  hostile 


WHAT    LED    TO    THE    AMERICAN    PARTY.  239 

to  our  social  and  political  interests,  that  the  voice  of  remon 
strance  has  been  raised,  and  if  ever  a  war  of  classes  or  of 
religion  occurs  on  American  soil,  it  will  be  the  fruit  only  of 
their  clannish  hostility,  intolerance,  and  brutality.  With  a 
law-abiding  and  a  forbearing  spirit,  the  American  people  have 
endured  much,  too  much,  at  the  hands  of  imported  bigotry 
and  superciliousness,  and  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  events  that 
this  state  of  things  can  endure  much  longer. 

The  foreigners  and  the  Roman  Catholics  are  the  masters 
of  their  own  destiny  in  the  United  States.  They  may,  per 
haps,  become  the  masters  of  our  destiny ;  but  if  so,  the  pre 
cursors  of  such  an  event  will  be  appalling — and  the  result 
fatal  to  human  liberty.  The  latter  event  we  must  not  antici 
pate  ;  it  is  too  terrible  for  contemplation  !  but  of  the  former  we 
may  reason  together.  I  say  these  classes  are  the  masters  of 
their  own  destiny,  because  that  destiny  depends  on  their 
deportment.  If  they  will  be  not  only  with  us  but  of  us ;  if, 
when  they  swear  to  be  Americans,  they  will  realize  the  spirit 
of  political  baptism  and  prove  themselves  converted  to  our 
political  faith,  our  institutions,  and  strive  to  assimilate  with  our 
habits,  customs,  and  language ;  if  they  will  abide  by  and  res 
pect  our  laws,  and  use  without  abusing  the  privileges  and 
freedom  which  our  institutions  afford  to  them ;  if  they  will  be 
content  to  enjoy  religious  liberty,  and  hold  their  church  aloof 
from  the  State ;  in  a  word,  if  they  will  become  truly  Ameri 
canized,  and  deport  themselves  as  good  citizens,  their  destiny 
will  be  peaceful,  happy,  and  glorious.  But  if,  on  the  con 
trary,  they  cling  to  former  attachments ;  if  they  take  an 
unmeaning  oath,  swearing  one  thing,  and  regarding  another ; 


240       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

if  they  study  to  preserve  their  foreign  peculiarities,  habits, 
customs,  and  language ;  if  they  assail  our  Constitution  and 
our  la\vs,  and  make  war  against  our  institutions;  if  they  drag 
their  religion  into  the  political  arena,  and  declare  their  deter 
mination  to  make  their  church  the  ruling  power  of  the  nation  ; 
if  they  attempt  to  coerce  and  rule  over  the  people  who  have 
given  them  an  asylimi  from  the  despotic  oppressions  and 
starvation  of  their  own  native  lands :  if  this  is  to  be  their 
deportment,  their  destiny  is  already  written,  for,  assuredly, 
the  Genius  of  America  will  not  strive  always  with  words  of 
persuasion  against  them.  There  is  a,  point  beyond  which 
patience  ceases  to  be  a  virtue,  and  the  dictates  of  that  law 
which  teaches  us  that  "  Charity  should  begin  at  home,"  the 
law  of  self-respect  and  self-preservation,  must  be  enforced ;  the 
American  people  may  be  constrained  to  adopt  such  measures 
of  policy  as  will  for  ever  put  these  assumptions  at  rest,  and 
change  materially  the  social  and  political  aspect  of  the 
foreigner  and  the  papist  in  the  United  States.  Their  fate,  I 
repeat,  is  in  their  own  hands  :  if  they  are  wise  they  will  mould 
it  to  happy  results. 

At  various  periods  of  our  national  history  distinct  signs  of 
apprehension,  in  regard  to  the  subversive  influence  of  foreign 
ers  acting  on  a  political  equality  with  the  native  citizens,  have 
been  manifested,  but  no  attenpt  to  organize  a  distinct  party, 
devoted  to  the  American  policy,  occurred  until  the  year  1834. 
This  took  place  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  was  ushered 
upon  the  public  attention  by  a  temperate  address,  in  which 
was  recounted  the  rapidly-increasing  dangers  of  foreign  and 
papal  influences  upon  our  republican  institutions,  and  setting 


AMERICANS    ON  .  THE    DEFENSIVE.  241 

forth  the  necessity  of  radical  amendments  to  our  system  of 
naturalization  as  a  shield  against  their  encroachments.  To 
the  citizens  of  New  York  the  address  made  especial  appeals, 
exhibiting  the  increased  burden  of  taxation  imposed  upon 
them  for  the  support  of  the  European  poor  who  made  that 
city  their  refuge,  and  exposing  the  ambitious  arrogance  of 
foreigners  in  their  efforts  to  control  the  municipal  affairs  of 
the  city. 

This  address  had  the  effect  to  arouse  a  strong  popular 
sentiment  in  favor  of  the  new  party,  and  in  a  short  time  an 
organization  was  so  far  effected  as  to  warrant  the  nomination 
of  a  distinct  American  ticket  for  the  local  offices.  Professor 
SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE,  whose  genius  has  added  a  brilliant  and 
imperishable  ray  to  the  halo  of  American  glory,  and  whose 
writings  have  stamped  him  with  the  mark  of  a  sterling  and 
pure-minded  patriot,  was  chosen  as  the  American  candidate 
for  the  office  of  Mayor  of  New  York,  and  at  the  election 
which  immediately  followed  nine  thousand  citizens  responded 
with  their  votes,  in  favor  of  the  American  party  and  its  prin 
ciples.  This  vote,  although  not  sufficient  to  elect  the  Ameri 
can  candidates,  was  enough  to  throw  consternation  into  the 
camp  of  the  old  parties.  Besides,  the  movement  of  the  New 
Yorkers  was  quickly  followed  in  various  other  cities  in  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  Union,  and  for  a  short  time  there  existed  the 
most  marked  indications  of  popular  sympathy  and  encourage 
ment. 

This  result  was  unexpected  by  the  old  political  leaders,  and 
forthwith  their  batteries  were  directed  through  the  port-holes 
of  a  thousand  partisan  presses,  in  every  portion  of  the  land, 

11 


242  A   DEFENCE    OF   THE    AMERICAN   POLICY. 

against  the  new  organization.  The  most  effective  implements 
of  party  discipline  were  immediately  brought  into  requisition  ; 
those  of  their  camp  followers  who  had  ventured  to  speak 
approvingly  of  the  American  party  were  denounced  and  vilified, 
and  those  who  had  sustained  it  by  their  votes  were  formally 
excommunicated,  branded  with  a  pseudo  infamy,  and  declared 
to  be  among  the  proscribed  for  ever. 

The  artillery  of  parties,  powerful,  thoroughly  organized  in 
every  portion  of  the  country,  with  an  army  of  presses,  and  a 
phalanx  of  prejudices,  proved  too  much  for  the  little  band  of 
Spartan-spirited  patriots,  whose  only  weapon  was  a  good  cause 
and  a  virtuous  purpose,  and,  after  a  struggle  of  two  or  three 
years,  the  first  American  party  was  overwhelmed,  and  utterly 
obliterated. 

But  although  the  organization  was  abandoned,  the  broad 
principle  which  it  had  enunciated  was  immutable.  The 
ingredients  of  that  party  were  scattered,  but  with  them  were 
scattered  the  seeds  of  a  future  harvest  of  opinion,  that  should, 
at  some  future  day,  bring  forth  fruit  of  its  kind  from  every 
pore  in  the  soil  of  American  Nationality. 

"  Truth  crushed  to  earth  will  rise  again, 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers, 
But  error  wounded  writhes  in  pain, 
And  dies  amid  her  worshippers-" 

The  array"  of  facts  brought  to  light,  during  this  brief  effort, 
and  the  logical  deductions  drawn  from  them,  went  forth,  and 
when  the^torm  came  on  they  nestled  silently  in  a  quiet  recess 
of  the  American  mind,  and  there,  stript  of  all  extraneous  ves 
ture,  and  away  from  all  counter-influences  and  prejudices,  they 
underwent  the  test  and  scrutiny  of  calm  reflection. 


SEWARD    AND    HUGHES.  243 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   AMERICAN   REPUBLICAN  PARTY   OF   1844 — ITS  RISE  AND  PALL. 

"  When  the  Deity  conversed  with  men 

He  was  himself  a  Patriot !— to  the  earth,— 

To  all  mankind  a  Savior  was  he  sent ; 

And,  all  he  loved  with  a  Redeemer's  love ; 

Yet  still,  his  warmest  love,  his  tenderest  care, 

His  life,  his  heart,  his  blessings  and  his  mournings, 

His  smiles,  his  tears,  he  gave  to  thee,  Jerusalem, 

To  thee,  Ms  country." 

Z.  WOLFE. 

IN  consequence  of  the  annihilation  of  the  American  Party, 
the  demagogues  grew  bolder,  and  the  foreigners  and  papists 
more  audacious  and  presuming.  A  very  few  years  sufficed 
to  develop  this  fact.  Before  the  year  1840  had  passed  away, 
the  footprints  of  Romanism  were  distinctly  visible  on  the 
political  field  of  the  country.  This  was  especially  the  case  in 
the  Empire  State,  where  William  H.  Seward  occupied  the 
executive  chair.  At  the  commencement  of  that  year,  under 
the  instigation  of  his  "friend,"*  Bishop  John  Hughes,  the 
Romish  prelate  of  New  York,  Mr.  Seward  put  forth  that  re- 

*  In  a  letter  to  a  gentleman  in  New  York,  dated  November  15, 1840,  Mr.  Seward 
says  :  "  Bishop  Hughes  is  my  friend,  I  honor,  respect,  and  confide  in  him."    This 
is  at  least  an  inferential  justification  of  my  statement  that  it  was  at  the  instigation 
confidential  friend  Bishop  Hughes,  that  he  made  the  recommendation. 


244        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

markable  recommendation  to  the  Legislature,  which  I  have 
before  noticed  in  this  work.  In  1841  the  plot  thickened,— 
Mr.  Seward  reiterated  his  formerly-expressed  sentiments  in 
favor  of  the  Romish  and  foreign  aggression  upon  our  educa 
tional  system ;  and  the  year  1842  witnessed  the  consummation 
of  his  recommendations.  Romanism  took  possession,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  of  the  public  schools  of  the  State,  and  the 
Bible,  which  had  been  implanted  in  those  schools  at  the  foun 
dation  of  the  system,  and  used  as  a  reading-book  for  religious 
and  moral,  but  not  sectarian,  instruction,  was  banished  from 
them.  It  was  plaint  to  every  eye  and  every  mind  that  this 
infamous  outrage  was  the  result  of  a  deliberate  bargain  be 
tween  the  authorities  of  the  State  and  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  it  is  not  remarkable  that  thereby  the  fires  of  popular  in 
dignation  should  have  been  kindled. 

And  those  fires  were  kindled.  On  every  hand  the  voice  of 
public  condemnation  was  heard  ;  the  quiescent  spirit  of  Ameri 
canism  was  re-awakened,  and  the  party  was  reorganized  in 
the  City  of  New  York  under  the  title  of  "  AMERICAN  REPUB 


LICANS. 


This  party  proceeded  forthwith  in  the  organization  of  ward 
committees  or  associations,  in  each  of  the  several  wards  of  the 
city,  and  the  creation  of  a  general  committee,  to  be  composed 
of  delegates  chosen  in  the  several  wards.  They  also  prepared 
and  published  a  "Declaration"  of  their  general  principles, 
which  were  the  same  as  those  of  the  party  as  it  existed  in 
1834.  The  "  declaration  of  principles,"  or,  in  modern  parlance, 
the  "  platform,"  issued  at  that  time,  and  which  I  republish  at 
length,  while  eminently  conservative  and  patriotic,  will  be 


PRINCIPLES    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PARTY.  245 

found  to  contain  none  of  those  features  of  "  bigotry  "  and  "  pro 
scription"  attributed  to  it  by  the  enemies  of  the  party.  That 
platform  was  framed  in  the  following  words : — 

DECLARATION  OF  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

Whereas,  in  the  course  pursued  by  the  leaders  of  the  political  par 
ties  of  the  day,  we  discover  an  utter  recklessness  and  disregard  of 
the  good  government  ar&  well-being  of  society,  a  contempt  for  moral 
honesty,  and  the  true  and  proper  administration  of  the  laws  to  re 
strain  vice  and  its  demoralizing  effects  upon  the  thoughts  and  actions 
of  the  people,  all  of  which  is  plainly  manifested  by  the  appointment 
to  offices  of  honor  and  trust,  of  men  of  immoral  character,  and  indivi 
duals  who  are  ignorant  of  the  laws  and  institutions  of  our  country; 
therefore,  we,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  have  concluded  to  asso 
ciate  ourselves  together,  and  be  known  and  designated  as  the  Ameri 
can  Republican  Party  of  the  City  and  County  of  New  York,  for  the 
purpose  of  endeavoring,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  and  with  our  best  abili 
ties,  to  correct  the  evils  herein  complained  of,  and  by  the  virtues  of 
the  men  of  76,  and  the  memory  of  a  "  Washington,"  a  "  Franklin," 
and  a  "  Jefferson,"  the  defender,  the  counsellor,  and  the  apostle  of 
our  liberties,  we  pledge  ourselves  to  each  other,  to  use  our  best  exer 
tions  to  bring  about  a  reformation  at  the  ballot-boxes,  and  that  we 
will  not  aid  or  assist  in  any  way  or  manner,  directly  or  indirectly,  in 
electing  any  man  to  office,  be  his  party  predilections  what  they  may, 
either  of  honor,  trust,  or  emolument,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest, 
who  has  not  at  all  times  shown  a  proper  respect  for  the  decencies  of 
society  and  an  honest  and  virtuous  regard  for  the  laws  and  the  due 
administration  of  justice  ;  our  inquiries  shall  be,  "Is  he  capable? 
Is  he  honest  ?"  Also,  is  he  an  American-born  citizen  ? 

Resolved,  That  as  American  citizens,  having  at  heart  the  purity, 
permanency,  and  honor  of  our  institutions— jealous  of  our  rights  and 
liberties,  and  fearful  of  the  evils  of  foreign  influence,  which  have  al 
ready  exhibited  themselves,  we  will  not  recognize  nor  support,  for  any 


246  A    DEFENCE    OF   THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

office  of  honor,  trust,  or  emolument,  for  General,  State,  or  Municipal 
Government,  any  person  or  persons  who  are  directly  or  indirectly 
subjected  to  or  influenced  by,  the  laws  or  powers,  temporal  or  spiritual, 
of  any  foreign  prince,  power,  or  potentate. 

Resolved,  That  we  highly  appreciate  that  protection  and  freedom 
in  "  life,  liberty,  and  property,"  guaranteed  to  the  people  of  our 
glorious  republic,  by  that  best  of  instruments  that  the  mind  of  man 
ever  conceived,  the  sacred  Constitution  of^ir  country;  so  also  do 
we  view  with  abhorrence  all  attacks  upon,  or  abridgment  of,  our  free 
and  unbiased  expression  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of  each 
and  all  of  our  public  officers,  whom  we,  the  people,  have  derated  to 
honor,  by  conferring  upon  them  offices  within  our  gift,  without  fear 
ing  that  they  will  make  use  of  the  powers  temporarily  conferred  upon 
them  for  party  or  selfish  purposes. 

Resolved,  That,  as  a  party,  we  will  not  appoint  to  any  office  within 
our  power,  any  person  who  is  not  American  by  birth,  born  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 

We  hold  and  maintain  that  the  present  Naturalization  Laws  are 
unequal  and  unjust,  and  we  will,  therefore,  use  all  honorable  means 
in  order  to  effect  such  alteration  in  said  laws  as  shall  require  of  all 
foreigners,  who  shall  arrive  in  our  country  after  such  alteration 
shall  have  been  made,  to  remain  at  least  twenty-one  years  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  before  they  shall  be  endowed  with 
the  birthright  of  Native  Americans,  the  elective  franchise.  Also,  the 
passage  of  a  law  by  Congress,  prohibiting,  under  heavy  and  severe 
penalties,  the  importation  of  foreign  paupers  or  convicts  to  any  port 
or  place  in  the  United  States. 

We  declare,  also,  that  it  is  not  our  intention  or  desire  to  have 
enacted  any  retro-active  laws  by  which  to  abridge  the  vested  rights  of 
any — but  we  do  hold  and  will  sacredly  maintain  the  full  intention 
of  the  Constitution  of  these  United  States  alike  unto  all,  without, 
partiality.  We  are  in  favor  of  the  constituted  authorities  enacting 
Buch  laws  as  shall  give  the  privilege  to  persons  of  foreign  birth,  after 


PRINCIPLES    OF    THE    AMERICAN   PARTY.  247 

they  shall  have  declared  their  intention  of  becoming  citizens  of 
these  United  States,  in  conformity  with  the  laws  regulating  the 
same,  of  holding  and  conveying  real  and  personal  property,  and 
the  enjoyment  of  the  protection  and  privileges  of  all  our  laws  and 
institutions,  except  that  of  holding  office  and  the  elective  franchise. 

Our  country,  right  or  wrong  ;  but  still,  our  country,  is  our  motto  ; 
principles,  not  men,  our  creed  5  our  birthright  is  our  object ;  and 
perseverance,  until  we  obtain  it,  is  our  determination.  In  opposing 
the  elevation  of  foreigners  to  office,  and  in  seeking  a  change  in  the 
naturalization  laws — as  well  as  in  advocating  our  native  inherent 
rights,  we  are  only  reverting  back  to  the  elementary  principles  of 
our  national  Constitution,  supported  by  the  views  and  declarations 
of  the  immortal  Washington,  and  Jefferson,  the  clear-headed  states 
men  5  we  are  not  actuated  by  feelings  of  hostility  towards 
adopted  citizens.  What  we  contend  for  is  all  PROSPECTIVE.  We 
disclaim  the  intention  of  opposing  respectable  and  industrious  for 
eigners  immigrating  to  this  country.  But  we  do  object  to  and  shall 
use  all  lawful  means  to  exclude  from  our  country  the  idle,  the  vicious, 
and  the  unprincipled  of  every  clime,  that  the  morals  of  our  citizens 
be  not  injured  by  their  example,  or  our  property  taxed  for  their  support. 

We  have,  therefore,  adopted  this  Declaration  of  Principles  and 
Constitution  for  the  purpose  of  more  effectually  carrying  into  opera 
tion  our  principles,  and  of  preventing  an  increase  of  foreign  influ 
ence,  an-\  of  maintaining  inviolate  our  Political  Rights — our  Civil 
and  Eelig'ious  Liberties. 

In  the  spring  of  1843  this  party  took  the  field  with  a  full 
municipal  ticket,  and  polled  a  vote  which  exhibited  a  large 
change  of  popular  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  American  policy. 
Though  not  yet  sufficient  for  success — encouraged  rather  than 
disheartened  by  the  result,  the  party  continued  to  perfect  and 
strengthen  its  organization,  and  the  patriotic  example  was 
again  followed  by  the  people  of  Boston,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis, 


248       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

New  Orleans,  and  other  cities.  In  1844  each  of  the  cities 
above-named  elected,  in  whole  or  in  part,  an  American  Re 
publican  Municipal  Government. 

The  great  point  of  interest  in  the  contest  of  1844,  between 
the  old  party  leaders  and  the  American  Republicans,  was  the 
city  of  New  York.  This  was  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  movement  originated  in  that  city,  but  mainly  because  of 
the  vast  foreign  population  residing  within  its  limits.  It  was 
expected  that  the  entire  foreign  vote  would  be  cast  in  opposi 
tion  to  the  new  organization,  but  to  the  surprise  and  confusion 
of  its  enemies,  the  entire  body  of  Protestant  Europeans  en 
dorsed  the  principles  avowed  in  the  American  creed,  and 
voted  for  the  candidates  who  favored  those  principles.  The 
party,  in  selecting  its  candidates,  had  been  governed  by  the 
Jeffersonian  test.  They  chose  men  for  their  honesty  and 
business  capacity,  rather  than  for  their  experience  in  the  cor 
rupting  vortex  of  politics — men  eminent  rather  for  integrity 
and  respectability  of  character,  than  for  their  skill  as  political 
managers.  James  Harper,  Esq.,  the  leading  partner  in  the 
extensive  publishing  house  of  Harper  &  Brothers,  a  gentleman 
highly -conspicuous  for  his  business  talent  and  moral  worth, 
was  chosen  as  their  candidate  for  the  office  of  Mayor,  and 
the  same  policy  was  observed  in  the  choice  of  candidates  for 
members'  of  the  Common  Council,  and  heads  of  the  public 
departments  of  the  city.  Mr.  Harper  was  elected  Mayor  of 
New  York  by  a  very  large  majority,  as  were  also  a  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  two  boards  of  the  Common  Council. 
The  American  Republican  party  was  triumphant. 

During  this  canvass,  the  same  bitterness  of  spirit  and  vin- 


TRIUMPH    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PARTY.  249 

dictiveness  were  exhibited  by  the  partisan  presses  and  leaders, 
as  on  the  former  occasion.  ~No  arguments  were  employed 
to  controvert  the  doctrines  of  the  American  Republicans,  but 
one  continuous  torrent  of  epithets  and  ridicule  was  poured 
out  upon  them  and  their  advocates,  until  the  very  name 
"  American"  had  become  a  scurrilous  jest.  In  fact,  their 
doctrines  were  incontrovertible  ;  the  propriety  of  their  policy 
was  apparent  to  all,  though  not  admitted  by  all,  and  the 
hostility  arrayed  against  them  was  but  the  effect  of  a  des 
perate  struggle  on  the  part  of  men  eager  to  retain  the  grasp 
of  power. 

In  Philadelphia  the  canvass,  although  marked  by  no  dis 
tinguishing  features  on  the  part  of  the  parties  legitimately 
engaged  in  it,  was  nevertheless  made  memorable  on  account  of 
the  course  pursued  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  the  fatal  result 
of  their  interference.  This  class  of  our  "  adopted  citizens/'  re 
siding  in  that  city,  not  satisfied  with  the  privilege  of  meeting 
Americans  on  their  own  ground,  with  their  own  peaceful  weapon, 
the  ballot,  determined  to  take  Time  by  the  forelock,  and  break 
up  their  organization.  They  argued  very  rationally,  that,  if 
they  could  but  silence  the  American  orators,  and  prevent  public 
assemblages  of  the  American  people,  there  would  be  little  dif 
ficulty  in  destroying  their  party,  and  without  sufficiently 
weighing  the  conditions  on  which  they  relied  for  success,  they 
determined  to  adopt  that  plan  of  operations.  They  accord 
ingly  gave  notice  that  no  American  meetings  would  be  per 
mitted  in  certain  specified  districts,  and  this  notice  was  ac 
companied  with  threats  of  bloody  vengeance  on  any  who 
should  have  the  temerity  to  violate  its  provisions. 

11* 


250       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

The  district  of  Kensington,  in  which  a  meeting  of  American 
Republicans  had  been  called  by  public  notice,  was  especially 
designated  in  this  threat.  But  the  meeting  took  place  pre 
cisely  as  it  had  been  advertised,  at  4  o'clock  on  the  afternoon 
of  May  6th,  1844,  and  the  threat  was  consummated.  From 
the  windows  of  houses,  from  loop-holes,  and  alleys  in  the 
vicinity,  a  murderous  fire  of  musketry  was  poured  into  the 
assembly  with  terrible  effect.  George  Shiffler,  a  young  man 
who  held  the  national  flag  on  the  orator's  platform,  was  shot 
through  the  heart,  and  died  almost  instantly,  and  eleven  others 
were  dangerously  wounded.*  Thus  was  the  constitutional  right 
of  the  American  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  the  sacred 
right  of  free  speech,  invaded  by  a  brutal  horde  of  Irish  Ro 
manists  ;  thus  were  the  lips  of  a  free-born  American  sealed  in 
eternal  silence  by  a  Papal  bullet !  Why  do  we  pore  over  the 
pages  of  history  and  recapitulate  the  horrors  of  the  eve  of  St. 
Bartholomew,  when  proofs  like  this,  of  Papal  barbarity  and 
bigotry,  are  breeding,  ghastly  and  fresh,  on  our  own  soil  ? 

As  a  matter  of  course  the  result  produced  by  this  bloody  as 
sault  was  exactly  the  reverse  of  what  its  perpetrators  had  in 
tended.  They  expected  to  intimidate  the  American  orators, 
and  thus  stifle  their  influence  in  the  community.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  great  excitement  prevailed,  or  that  this  tangible 
evidence  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  American  Republican  doc 
trines  was  not  lost  upon  the  community.  American  meetings, 
the  most  enthusiastic  and  numerous,  were  held  in  every  quarter 
of  the  city,  and  to  add  to  the  excitement,  a  rumor  was  circu- 

*  At  a  meeting  held  on  the  following  day  the  murderous  assault  was  renewed,  at 
which  eight  Americans  were  killed,  and  about  forty  wounded.     See  Appendix. 


A  CHURCH  ARMED  AND  GARRISONED.         251 

lated  stating  that  arms  and  ammunition  were  concealed  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Queen  Street.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  search  the  building,  and,  under  the  direction  and 
authority  of  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  the  committee  proceeded 
in  the  performance  of  their  duty.  The  rumor  was  found  to 
be  true,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  extract  from  their 
report,  under  date  of  July  llth: — 

"  The  first  door  we  opened  revealed  to  us  two  able-bodied  Irishman, 
with  fixed  bayonets  and  loaded  muskets.  These  men  were  disarmed, 
and  on  opening-  the  door  at  which  they  stood  sentry,  we  saw  twenty- 
seven  muskets  stacked  along  the  room.  Placing  out  of  our  own  num 
ber  a  guard  over  these  men  and  muskets,  we  proceeded  on  our  search ; 
and  in  our  way  found  eight  other  men  armed  as  above.  Arriving  in 
the  room  in  which  the  religious  services  were  held,  one  of  the  Com 
mittee  brought  the  priest  in  front  of  the  altar,  and  thus  addressed 
him :  "I  ask  you,  upon  your  sacred  word  as  a  man  and  a  Christ- 
tian,  have  you  any  more  men  here?  Have  you  any  more  arms? 
Have  you  any  ammunition  ?"  To  each  of  these  questions  he  answered 
positively — no.  Finding  nothing  new  in  our  progress,  we  again  pro 
ceeded  to  the  room  or  vestibule  from  which  we  first  started.  In  this 
room  were  several  closets,  and  some  of  them  were  in  a  case  or  counter 
which  stood  along  the  wall.  We  asked  the  priest  to  open  it.  He  said 
it  contained  nothing  but  a  few  lemons  and  articles  for  making  some 
thing  to  drink.  We  asked  him  to  open  it,  when  we  discovered  a  keg 
of  powder,  some  percussion  caps,  and  buck  shot ;  and  on  account  of 
this  quibbling  of  the  priest,  we  were  anxious  to  open  a  closet  which 
was  under  the  stairs,  leading  from  the  vestibule  to  the  room  behind 
the  altar.  The  priest  here  said  that  the  closet  contained  private  pro 
perty  belonging  to  his  brother,  W.  H.  Dunn,  and  some  few  small 
articles  belonging  to  himself,  and  objected  to  open  it,  stating  that  the 
key  of  that  place  had  never  been  in  the  hands  of  any  other  person 
but  himself  and  brother.  No  denial  would  be  listened  to,  and  ac- 


252        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

cordingly  the  closet  was  opened  ;  in  it  was  found  seven  single,  and 
two  doable  barrel  guns,  and  several  pistols  ;  and  several  hundred 
cartridges,  some  of  which  had  eight,  ten,  or  more  slugs,  and  buck 
shot  in  them,  and  upon  examination  of  some  of  the  fowling  pieces, 
they  had  seven,  eight,  and  even  nine  finger  loads  in  them. 

"  Adopted  in  Committee,  July  llth,  1844. 
"  John  W.  Smith,  "Wright  Ardis, 

And  sixteen  others,  having  headed  this  committee  by  request  of  the 
Sheriff,  I  subscribe  to  the  foregoing  report. 

"  N.  M;KINLEY,  Alderman." 

Thus  the  American  party  of  1844,  like  that  of  1776,  was 
baptized  in  blood,. and  from  that  day  to  the  present  the  or 
ganization  has  never  been  abandoned  in  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia. 

Up  to  this  time  the  American  Republican  movement  had 
been  but  local  in  its  operations.  The  organizations  by  which 
it  was  conducted  had  been  confined  to  the  municipal  interests 
of  the  cities  in  which  they  originated,  and  but  little  effort  had 
yet  been  made  towards  perfecting  a  national  organization. 
It  is  apparent,  however,  that  a  party  professing  principles  so 
closely  identified  with  the  most  vital  political  interests  of  the 
entire  people,  could  not  long  confine  its  energies  to  matters 
merely  of  municipal  importance.  Measures  were  accordingly 
taken  for  a  concentration  of  action,  and  the  formation  of  a 
national  party,  and  a  convention  was  called,  to  consist  of  dele 
gates  from  the  several  States,  and  to  be  holden  in  the  City  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1845. 

In  conformity  with  this  call  the  convention  assembled  at 
Philadelphia  on  the  Anniversary  of  our  National  Independence. 
Nearly  three  hundred  delegates  were  present.  General  HENRY 
A.  S.  DEARBORNE  of  Mass,  was  chosen  President.  At  this 


HENRY    CLAY    AND    THE    NATIVE    AMERICANS.  253 

convention  a  more  comprehensive  "  Declaration  of  Prin 
ciples,"  but  embracing  as  its  general  features  the  doctrines  set 
forth  by  the  party  in  New  York,  was  adopted,  and  the  title  of 
the  organization  was  changed  from  "  American  Republican  " 
to  that  of  NATIVE  AMERICAN,  and  it  was  thereafter  known  as 
the  Native  American  Party. 

As  a  national  party  the  founders  of  this  organization  soon 
found  themselves  confronted  by  new,  and  in  some  respects 
unforeseen  obstacle.     They  had  expected  and  were  prepared 
to  encounter  the  continued  hostility  of  the  leaders  of  the  whig 
and  the  democratic  parties  with  their  Roman  allies,  but  they 
had  not  fully  anticipated,  nor  were  they  prepared  for  a  certain 
hike- warmth  which  manifested  itself  among  the  people  of  the 
rural  districts  of  the  country,  towards  the  new  party.      The 
influences  complained  of  had  not  yet  been  brought  home  to 
them ;  they  had  not  personally  witnessed  their  effects,  and  it 
was  impossible  for  them  to  realize  the  magnitude  of  the  dan 
gers  so  newly  presented  for  their  contemplation.      The  whig 
party,  also,  now  set  forth  a  fresh  ground  of  hostility,  charging 
the  Native  Americans  with  having  caused  the  defeat  of  HENRY 
CLAY,  who  had  been  the  whig  candidate  for  the  Presidency 
in  the  fall  of  1844.     They  directly  accused  the  Native  Ameri 
cans  with  a  breach  of  faith  in  this  matter,  asserting  that  the 
whigs  had  supported  the  Native  American  municipal  candi 
dates,  in  the  expectation  that  they  in  return  would  support  the 
whig  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 

This  charge,  it  is  now  perhaps  needless  to  say,  was  nothing 
more  than  a  perfidious  device  of  the  enemy.  In  the  primitive 
organizations  of  the  American  Party,  and  at  the  time  of  the 


254  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

presidential  election  in  1844,  they  made  no  pretensions  to  a 
national  organization,  and  although  they  elected  several  mem 
bers  of  Congress,  took  no  part  in  the  presidential  contest. 
The  individual  members  were  left  to  vote  on  that  question 
according  to  their  own  judgment  and  predilections.  What 
ever  the  whig  party  may  have  "expected,"  therefore,  from 
the  Native  Americans,  there  certainly  could  have  been  no 
understanding  between  them  on  the  subject. 

But  apart  from  any  understanding  between  the  parties,  Mr. 
Clay  did  himself,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  own  party  friends, 
agree  to  attach  to  the  whig  banner   a   large  share  of  the 
Native  American  creed,  and  the  groundwork  of  that  plan, 
after  having  been  submitted  to  Mr.  Clay,  was  published  as  an 
editorial  article  in  the  New  York  Courier  and  Enquirer,  a 
short  time  prior  to  the  election.      That  article  was  widely 
read",  but  the  circumstance  that  Mr.  Clay  had  given  it  his 
approval  was  carefully  concealed  from  the  public.     This  was 
the  result  of  a  timid  policy.     The  immediate  friends  of  that 
great  and  pure  statesman  were  afraid  to  declare  openly  the 
sentiments  of  their  candidate  in  favor  of  the  American  doc 
trines  lest  they  should  be  deserted  by  their  foreign  allies. 
They  were  mistaken.     The  foreigners  who  sustained  the  whig 
party  were  mostly  Protestants — for  with  all  his  subserviency 
to  the  Romish  power,  Mr.  Seward  never  secured  the  vote  of 
that  class  to  his  party — and,  had  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay  pur 
sued  a  more  frank  course  of  policy  on  this  subject — had  that 
gentlemen's  views  been  publicly  made  known  and  generally 
understood,  the  entire  American  vote  would  have  been  cast 
for  him,  and  without  doubt  Ee  would  have  been  elected  Presi- 


PRETENDERS    IN    THE    PARTY.  255 

dent  of  the  United  States.  As  the  great  champion  of  an  Ameri 
can  protective  policy,  Mr.  Clay's  known  views  were  in  a  great 
measure  congenial  with  the  sentiments  of  the  new  party,  and 
as  a  consequence  many  of  the  democratic  members  of  that 
party,  who  would  have  otherwise  supported  his  opponent, 
gave  a  ready  and  cordial  support  to  him. 

But  this  did  not  shield  their  party  from  the  outpourings  of 
that  bitterness  of  disappointment  which  followed  the  defeat 
of  Mr.  Clay.  The  hostility  of  the  whigs  was  redoubled,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1845,  by  a  partial  fusion  with  the  democrats, 
they  succeeded  in  New  York  in  defeating  the  American  nomi 
nees.  This  defeat,  although  regarded  at  the  time  as  but  tem 
porary  in  its  effects,  was  fatal  to  the  American  cause. 

When  the  party  was  at  the  zenith  of  its  success,  many  of 
the  prominent  actors  in  the  old  parties  had  become  suddenly 
and  surprisingly  converted  to  the  new  faith,  and  with  loud 
and  earnest  professions  of  attachment  labored  among  the  most 
zealous  in  the  American  ranks.  In  many  instances  they  "  out- 
heroded  Herod"  in  their  denunciations  of  foreigners  and 
Romanists,  and  often  in  their  speeches  presented  as  the  views 
of  the  party,  the  most  ultra  theories,  and  the  most  inflammatory 
and  denunciatory  sentiments.  Orators  and  controversialists 
of  this  stamp  did  more  to  fasten  upon  the  Native  Americans 
the  current  charges  of  "  bigotry  "  and  "  proscription,"  than 
anything  that  could  be  found  in  their  platform,  or  their  public 
addresses.  Whether  this  was  a  part  of  the  motive  of  these 
men,  or  not,  is  of  course  unknown,  but  certainly  they  were 
the  first  to  advise  a  dissolution  of  the  party,  and  the  first  to 
to  leave  it  on  the  appearance  of  adverse  circumstances. 


256        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

The  effort  to  enlist  the  sympathies  of  the  people  of  the 
rural  districts  having  foiled,  the  national  organization  was  vir 
tually  abandoned,  although  a  certain  committee  was  appointed, 
with  power  to  call  a  national  convention  for  the  nomination 
of  candidates  for  President  and  Vice  President  in  1848,  if 
deemed  advisable.  That  convention  was  called,  more,  how 
ever,  with  a  view  to  another  interchange  of  opinions,  then 
with  any  intention  of  an  immediate  renewal  of  the  organiza 
tion.  The  convention  made  no  nomination,  but  having  cor 
responded  with  General  Taylor,  and  found  his  views  to  coincide 
with  the  general  features  of  the  American  Policy,  they,  in 
advance  of  any  other  party  publicly  recommended  him  as  a 
suitable  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  The  local  organizations, 
"  growing  small  by  degrees,  and  beautifully  less,"  continued 
their  efforts,  until  1847,  when,  with  the  exception  of  that  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  they  were  all  finally  abandoned. 
The  American  Party  was  a  second  time  in  its  slumber. 


THE    ORDER    OF   UNITED    AMERICANS.          •  257 


CHAPTER    XX. 

THE  OKDER  OF  UNITED  AMERICANS-ITS  ORJGJN-ITS  PRINCIPLES  AND  OBJECTS-ITS  FORM 
OF  GOVERNMENT. 

"When  the  skin  of  the  Lion  proves  too  short,  we  must  eke  it  out  with  the  Fox's 
tail." 

RICHELIEU. 

I  AM  now  about  to  write  of  an  institution  which  has  already 
exerted  a  silent  yet  important  influence  in  the  political  history 
of  the  United  States.     How  far  it  is  destined  to  exert  its  con 
servative  power  in  the  future,  depends  perhaps  more  upon  the 
wisdom  and  the  purity  of  its  counsels  than  the  assaults  of  its 
foes—because  it  is  now  so  firmly  fortified  in  public  esteem, 
so  consecutive,  systematic,  and  effective,  in  its  organization' 
and  so  numerous  in  its  membership,  that  it  is  enabled  to  look 
with  complacency  and  indifference  upon  every  attempt  to  de 
feat  or  retard  its  patriotic  purposes.     The  objects  of  this  order 
have  been  political  and  social; 'it  has  studiously  remained 
aloof  from   every  partisan .  affiliation,   an*  while  sustaining 
entirely  the  doctrines  and  objects  of  the  American  Republi 
cans,  it   has   levelled  its  shafts  as  freely  at  the  American 
demagogue.     Its  political  character  may  behead  in  a  single 
sentence  of  its  platform,  thus  : 


258  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

"  Our  political  action  will  be  adapted  to  the  exigency  of  the  crisis 
which  may  arise- ;  but  our  polar  star  shall  ever  be  the  salvation  of 
our  country  and  its  institutions." 

From  this  we  are  to  infer,  that,  from  whatever  source  or  by 
whatever  means  that  exigency  may  occur,  whether  instigated 
by  internal  or  external  foes,  whether  of  a  nature  social,  reli 
gious,  or  political,  whether  sooner  or  later,  in  peace  or  in  war, 
in  civil  discord  or  domestic  quiet,  if  that  exigency  shall  di 
rectly  or  indirectly  place  in  jeopardy  our  country  or  its  insti 
tutions,  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  society  to  meet  it  with  a 
resolute  and  patriotic  hostility.  A  purpose  so  noble,  seconded, 
as  it  has  thus  far  been,  by  an  unobtrusive,  orderly,  and  law- 
abiding  deportment  on  the  part  of  its  membership,  could  not 
fail  to  secure  the  public  confidence  and  respect. 

The  organization  of  this  order  took  place  on  the  21st  of 
December,  1844,  in  the  city  of  New  York.  At  that  time 
several  gentlemen,  entertaining  a  solemn  conviction  of  the 
dangers  which  overhang  our  institutions,  from  the  nefarious 
designs  of  Jesuitism,  from  the  rapidly-increasing  influences 
exerted  upon  them  from  abroad,  and  from  the  ignorant  masses 
of  Europeans  who  were  permitted  to  share  in  the  elective 
franchise,  as  also  from  the  glaring  habits  of  corruption  to 
which  our  politicians  had  descended ;  having  witnessed  also 
the  futility  of  previous  attempts  to  awaken  the  popular  mind 
to  a  true  sense  of  those  evils,  or  to  overcome  the  united  and 
secret  combination  of  organized  demagogues  by  means  of  an 
open  party,  and  anticipating  that  a  like  result  would  follow 
the  effort  then  J>eing  made— resolved  to  adopt  some  plan  by 
which  those  deleterious  influences  might  be  met  on  their  own 


POLITICAL    EDUCATION.  259 

terms,  and  with,  their  own  weapons.  The  most  potent  weapon 
employed  by  the  unscrupulous  politicians,  as  well  as  by  the 
natural  foes  of  American  Republicanism — the  followers  of 
Loyola — was  the  secrecy  with  which  their  machinations  were 
planned  and  carried  out,  and  it  was  determined  that  the  same 
weapon  (secrecy)  should  be  employed  to  check  their  opera 
tions,  and  thwart  their  designs. 

It  was  observable,  also,  that  the  political  education  of  the 
young  men  of  the  country  was  confided  entirely  to  the  par 
tisan  schools,  and  very  few  graduated  and  stood  forth  upon 
the  platform  of  manhood  with  any  ideas  of  political  •  duty 
beyond  the  mere  essentials  of  a  democratic  or  a  whig  success. 
They  understood  very  distinctly,  because  they  were  so  trained 
to  believe,  that  to  the  party  into  whose  lap  they  had  chanced 
to  fall  when  they  emerged  from  boyhood,  the  whole  country, 
if  not  the  whole  world,  was  indebted  for  every  vestige  of 
liberty  remaining,  and  for  all  that  might  be  garnered  up  for 
future    use — hence,  when  their  party  was  triumphant,  they 
were  given  to  understand  that  "  the  country  was  safe,"  and 
they  could  return  to  their  workshops  and  counters,  and  con 
tinue  their  avocations  with  the  most  perfect  assurance  that 
there  would  be  no  more  danger  until  the  next  election.     In 
their  estimation  the  highest  qualification  of  a  politician  was 
to  be  found  in  his  tact  for  getting  the  "right"  votes  into  the 
ballot-box,  and  keeping  out  the  "  wrong"  ones,  and  the  most 
accomplished  statesman  was  he  who  could  make  his  measures 
tell  best  for  "  the  party."     The  idea  of  legislating  for  the  peo 
ple  was  not  obsolete  with  them,  because  they   had  never   en 
tertained  it— it  had  not  been  among  the  rudiments  of  their 


260  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

education ;  it  was  a  thing  Utopian — heard  of  but  unknown. 
Thus  the  spirituel  of  our  political  element  was  rapidly  degen-  _ 
erating  into  a  mere  factional  system,  while  the  pernicious 
ingredients  of  radicalism,  superstition,  and  ignorance,  were 
held  aloof  as  make-weights  to  be  thrown  into  either  scale 
which  would  afford  the  largest  remuneration. 

A  system  that  would  afford  a  school  of  patriotism  to  the 
young,  purify  the  morale  of  the  political  atmosphere,  and  by 
awakening  a  home  pride,   a  spirit  of  American  nationality 
among  the  people,  neutralize  and  stifle  those  imported  theories 
which  were  being  rapidly  engrafted  upon  our  time-honored 
republican  customs  and  sentiments,  was  a  something  desirable, 
at  least,  if  not  imperatively  necessary  as  a  measure  of  self- 
protection.     The  formation  of  a  politico-benevolent  institution, 
beyond  the  reach  of  the   corrupting  influences  of  partisan 
demagogues,  was  therefore  determined  upon.     An  institution 
which,  as  one  of  its  features,  should  receive  into  its  member 
ship  young  men  who  were  soon  to  enter  upon  the  discharge 
of  their  political  duties,  and  thus,  by  bringing  them  into  a 
social   contact  with   men  of  maturer  years  and  experience, 
afford  to  them  opportunities  for  a  more  rational  and  patriotic 
political  instruction  than  could  be  obtained  under  the  cor 
rupting  influences  of  mere  partisans  and  factionists — an  in 
stitution  that  should  be  strictly  national  in  its  character,  and 
entirely  American  in  its  policy  and  its  membership ;  one  that 
would,  in  its  political  character  and  action,  eschew  all  par 
tisan  attachments  and  prejudices,  moving  unitedly  in  whatever 
direction  the  ultimate  good  of  the  country  should  demand, 
whether  in  the  choice  of  men,  or  the  adoption  of  measures— 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ORDER.  261 

an  institution  that  would  encourage  study,  oratory,  and  re 
search,  and  impart  information  to  the  young  by  addresses  and 
discussions  in  political  science,  and  general  history,  and  espe 
cially  on  topics  relating  to  American  history,  and  thus  by  intui 
tion  bring  about  a  more  conservative,  healthy,  and  patriotic 
train  of  political  thought  in  the  great  American  mind. 

Such  was  the  general  outline  of  a  plan  for  the  formation 
of  a  society  for  the  purposes  which  I  have  already  stated.  As 
an  additional  bond  of  unity,  a  beneficiary  feature,  something 
of  the  nature  of  Odd  Fellowship,  was  added  to  the  plan,  and 
upon  this  basis  the  Order  of  United  American^  was  ushered 
into  existence. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  Order  took  place  on  the  evening 
of  the  21st  of  December,  1844,  at  the  private  residence  of  one 
of  its  members,  in  Foray tb  street,  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
At  that  meeting  there  were  present  the  following  persons : 
viz. :— Simeon  Baldwin,  James  Harper,  Thomas  R.  Whitney, 
George  P.  Parker,  William  Atkinson,  Charles  A.  Whitney, 
R.  C.  Root,  T.  B.  Miner,  Geo.  W.  Parsons,  Danl.  Talmage, 
G.  E.  Belcher,  L.  D.  Burling,  and  E.  D.  Root. 

These  gentlemen  at  that  time  comprised  the  entire  mem 
bership  of  an  association* which  in  less  than  eight  years  num 
bered  its  tens  of  thousands  of  members,  distributed  over  the 
various  States  of  the  Union,  and  which  has  been  as  remark 
able  for  the  wholesome  influence  which  it  has  exerted  over 
the  political  sentiments  of  the  country,  as  for  its  fidelity  to 
its  original  purpose. 

At  the  meeting  above-mentioned,  the  general  plan  and  pur 
poses  of  the  association  were  discussed,  and  a  brief  constitu- 


262  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

tion  for  its  primitive  government  was  unanimously  adopted- 
together  with  the  following  "  Preamble  "  or  code  of  principles : 


PREAMBLE. 


During  the  last  few  years,  events  of  a  most  alarming  nature  have 
transpired,  which  threaten  to  annihilate  those  glorious  institutions 
bequeathed  to  us  by  our  patriot  sires. 

The  precepts  and  warning  legacy  of  our  immortal  WASHINGTON,  to 
«  beware  of  foreign  influence,"  seem,  in  a  fearful  measure,  to  have 
fallen  upon  ears  deaf  to  the  cause  of  freedom,  save  that  radical  free 
dom  which  admits  of  no  restraint,  and  acknowledges  no  law,  except 
that  which  to-day  may  be  enacted  and  to-morrow  annulled,  at  the 
caprice  of  base  demagogues,  to  serve  some  unhallowed  party  pur 
pose. 

With  sorrow  we  have  seen  many  of  our  countrymen  unite  with 
citizens  of  foreign  birth,  in  enacting  laws,  and  supporting  principles 
that  must  inevitably  end  in  the  subversion  of  our  liberties,  unless  we 
rally,  in  the  majesty  of  our  strength,  now,  while  we  have  the  power, 
and  for  ever  stay  the  further  progress  of  dangerous  innovations  upon 
our  established  laws. 

The  most  alarming  of  these  exactions  is  the  exclusion  of  the  Bible 
from  our  public  schools.  If  the  word  of  God,  the  Magna  Charta  of 
all  civil  and  Religious  Liberty,  be  banished  from  our  public  schools, 
we  may  look  forward  with  certainty  to  ^the  day  when  the  blighting 
wand  of  moral  darkness  will  usurp  the  seat  of  enlightened  rectitude, 
and  when  our  dearest  rights  will  be  wrested  from  us  by  ambitious 
rulers,  who,  fearing  not  God  nor  regarding  man,  will  weave  around 
us  the  galling  chains  of  despotism,  and  for  ever  banish  from  our  now 
happy  shores  the  name  of  freedom,  and  its  attributes. 

Believing  that  the  present  crisis  in  our  political  condition  calls 
loudly  for  the  most  effective  cooperation  of  all  who  sincerely  desire 
the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions,  an  ORDER  has  been  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  more  effectually  securing  our  country  from  the  dan 


PRINCIPLES    OF   THE    ORDER.  263 

gers  of  foreign  influence,  by  a  concert  of  action  and  singleness  of 
purpose,  that  we  may  look  for  in  vain  through  the  ordinary  channels 
of  society.  Coupled  with  this  laudable  endeavor  to  secure  to  pos 
terity  the  civil  and  religious  rights  that  we  enjoy,  is  the  ennobling 
and  virtuous  duty  of  aiding  our  fellow  men  in  distress  j  that  when 
laid  upon  a  bed  of  sickness,  the  friendly  aid  of  this  Order  may  be 
manifested  in  providing  for  our  necessities.  In  the  silent  watches  of 
the  night  a  friend  will  ever  be  ready  to  administer  to  our  wants,  and 
if  death  lays  his  cold  hand  upon  us,  we  shall  depart  in  the  assurance 
that  our  widowed  consorts  will  be  the  recipients  of  the  imperishable 
friendship  of  the  fraternity,  and  if  need  be,  that  pecuniary  assistance 
which  will  soften  the  asperity  of  their  desolate  condition.  The  pater 
nal  guardianship  of  this  Order  will  ever  bring  our  fatherless  children 
within  their  watchful  care,  and  especially  will  the  orphan  be  pro 
tected  from  the  snares  of  a  cold  and  heartless  world,  and  placed  in 
the  path  that  leads  to  honor  and  usefulness  here,  and  to  a  blessed 
rest  hereafter.  . 

In  our  efforts  to  release  our  country  from  the  thraldom  of  foreign 
domination  which  now,  or  shall  hereafter  exist,  we  will  act  as  with 
the  heart  and  impulse  of  one  man,  and  truly  and  faithfully  conform 
to  the  will  of  a  majority  of  our  Order. 

Our  political  action  will  be  adapted  to  the  exigency  of  the  crisis 
that  may  arise  ;  but  our  polar  star  shall  ever  be  the  salvation  of  our 
country  and  its  institutions. 

As  the  perpetuity  of  our  civil  and  religious  liberties  is  the  great 
object,  to  secure  which  we  unite  our  strength,  we  will  assail  .no  man 
for  his  religious  opinions. 

With  these  remarks  upon  our  object  and  position,  we  submit  our 
constitution  to  the  examination  of  our  countrymen/cordially  inviting 
them  to  come  forward  and  unite  with  us  in  securing  our  free  institu 
tions  to  ourselves  and  to  our  posterity. 

This  preamble,  together  with  the  constitution,  was  forthwith 


264        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

published  to  the  world,  and  immediately  thereafter  a  ritual 
for  the  private  government,  and  instruction  of  its  members, 
was  prepared  and  adopted.  As  an  evidence  of  the  liberality 
of  spirit  towards  foreigners  in  which  the  organization  was 
conceived,  I  venture  to  quote  a  passage  from  the  instruction 
given  to  their  members  on  their  admission  to  the  order,  in 
the  following  words : 

"  At  the  same  time,  we  extend  the  right  hand  of  fellowship 
to  those  who  seek  our  shores,  and  with  sincerity  cherish  their 
new  home  and  its  institutions." 

The  publication  of  the  constitution  with  its  preamble  pro 
duced  no  little  sensation  on  the  public  mind— and  while  their 
provisions  were  received  with  cordial  approbation  by  the  con 
servative  and  truly  patriotic,  they  were  met  at  the  same  time 
with  the  sternest  denunciations  of  the  partisan  leaders  and 
presses.    The  Order  was  characterized  as  an  "  infamous  cabal," 
an  "  infernal  Native  American  machine,"  a  "Jacobin  Club,"  &c. 
One  of  the  New  York  papers  did  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it 
an  organization  more  vile  than   that  of  the  Jesuits.     To  all 
these  assaults  the  Order  listened  in  silence,  and  "went  on  its 
way  rejoicing."     ALPHA  CHAPTER,  the  first  organized  under 
the  constitution,  increased  so  rapidly  in  numbers,  that  early 
in  the  following  spring  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  divide  the 
membership,  which  was  accordingly  done,  and  by  this  division, 
WASHINGTON  CHAPTER,  No.  2,  was  created,  and  its  organi 
zation  took  place  on  the  31st  of  March,  1845.     On  the  first 
day  of  April,  1845,  the  first  hall,  used  especially  for  the  meet 
ings  of  the  order,  was  dedicated.     The  membership  of  Alpha 
Chapter  had,  during  the  winter,  secured  the  lease  of  a  suitable 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  ORDER.  265 

hall,  and  fitted  it  up  in  a  most  elegant  manner,  the  walls  and 
ceiling  being  embellished  with  elaborate  and  appropriate 
designs  in  fresco.  On  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  the  hall 
was  open  to  the  public,  and  the  beautiful  Temple  of  Patriotism-, 
brilliantly  lighted  and  decorated,  was  thronged  with  an  assem 
blage  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  had  been  invited  to  wit 
ness  the  ceremony.  The  Hon.  Win.  W.  Campbell,  a  member 
of  the  Chapcer,  delivered  an  appropriate  address,  after  which 
a  Poem,  written  for  the  occasion,  was  delivered  by  one  of 
the  members— both  of  which  were  afterwards  published  in 
pamphlet  form  by  the  Chapter,  and  circulated  gratuitously. 
WARREN  CHAPTER,  No  3,  was  instituted  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
on  the  26th  of  April  in  the  same  year ;  MANHATTAN,  No.  4, 
on  the  9th  of  May,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  JEFFERSON, 
No.  5,  was  instituted  August  13th,  at  Harlacm.  Thus,  not 
withstanding  the  hostility  of  timorous  politicians,  five  chapters 
of  the  order  were  instituted  within  eight  months  after  the 
preliminary  meeting  of  its  founders. 

The  government  of  the  order  was  made  by  the  constitution 
legislative,  administrative,  and  judicial,  and  the  whole  system 
is  strictly  American  Republican,  every  officer  and  every  repre 
sentative  being  elective.  The  order  is  divided  into  three  dis 
tinct  grades  or  departments,  viz. : 

1st.  The  "  Arch  Chancery,"  or  National  legislative  head, 
consisting  of  delegates,  or  representatives,  called  "  Arch  Chan 
cellors,"  three  from  each  State  chancery. 

2d.  The  "  Chanceries,"  or  legislative  head  in  each  several 
State,  consisting  of  representatives  called  "  Chancellors,"  three 
from  each  Chapter  in  the  State. 

12 


266  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

3d.  The  u  Chapters,"  or  local  organizations,  comprising  the 
membership  of  the  order. 

The  Chapters  are  organized  without  any  limit  as  to  locality 
or  number;  for  example,  any  number  of  Chapters  may  be  formed 
in  a  single  town  or  ward,  that  can  be  supported  in  such  town 
or  ward ;  besides,  the  members  are  not  required  to  reside  in 
the  particular  town,  ward,  county,  or  state,  in  which  the  chap 
ter  to  which  they  may  belong  is  situated.  The  presiding  offi 
cer  of  the  CHAPTER  is  denominated  the  "  Sachem  ;"  his  term 
of  office  is  six  months.  The  presiding  officer  of  the  State 
CHANCERY  is  entitled  the  "  Grand  Sachem ;"  he  is  also  the 
administrative  officer  of  the  State.  His  term  of  office  is  one 
year.  The  presiding  officer  of  the  ARCH  CHANCERY,  or 
National  head,  is  the  "  Arch  Grand  Sachem ;"  he  is  also  the 
chief  administrative  officer  of  the  whole  order.  His  term  of 
office  is  one  year. 

The  judicial  power  is  at  present  vested  by  grades  in  these 
three  bodies ;  the  minor  offences  among  the  membership  being 
tried  by  the  Chapters,  their  verdict  being  subject  to  an  appeal 
to  the  Grand  Sachem,  and  his  decision  again  subject  to  the 
revision  of  the  Chancery  (as  a  court  for  the  correction  of 
errors,  only),  otherwise,  the  decision  of  the  Grand  Sachem  is 
final.  Matters  of  litigation  between  Chanceries  are  adjusted 
on  appeal  to  the  Arch  Grand  Sachem,  as  are  also  differences 
between  the  Chanceries  and  their  Chapters,  his  decisions  being 
subject  to  revision  in  matters  of  law,  by  a  permanent  "  JUDI 
CIAL  BOARD,"  chosen  from  the  body  of  the  Arch  Chancery. 
The  several  State  Chanceries  have  in  contemplation  the  estab 
lishment  of  Judicial  Boards,  similar  to  that  of  Arwh  Chancery, 


THE    JUDICIAL    DEPARTMENT.  267 

with  a  view  to  separate  as  far  as  possible  the  judicial  from 
the  legislative  departments.  This  feature  is  the  only  impor 
tant  one  wanting  to  render  the  government  of  this  powerful 
society  as  complete  in  its  general  features,  as  that  of  the 
national  government  itself. 


208  A    DEFEXCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 


CHAPTER   XXL 

THE  ORDER  OP  UNITED  AMERICANS— ITS  PROGRESS,  INFLUENCE,  AND  CONDITION. 

.     "  It  is  time  that  we  were  a  little  more  Americanized." 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 

ALTHOUGH  the  Order  of  United  Americans  came  into  exis 
tence  at  a  moment  when  the  American  party  was  in  the 
ascendant  in  several  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  Union,  the 
anticipation  of  its  founders,  that  that  party  would,  like  its 
predecessor,  be  submerged  by  the  waves  of  political  corruption 
which  threatened  it  on  every  side,  was  soon  realized.  As 
stated  in  the  last  chapter,  the  American  party  was  over 
whelmed  in  1845,  and  almost  entirely  extinct  in  1847. 

When  the  last  struggles  of  that  patriotic  effort  were  over, 
and  no  more  traces  of  its  existence  were  visible  on  the  surface 
of  the  political  waters,  "  Nativeism"  was  supposed  to  have 
received  its  final  death-blow.  Then  it  was  that  the  very  name 
"American"  became  a  term  of  reproach,  and  the  offscourings 
of  European  fens  rose  up  in  the  high  places  among  the  people 
with  sneers  and  scoffs,  deriding,  and  denouncing  the  native 
sons  of  the  soil,  the  descendants  of  the  sires  who  fought  the 
seven  years'  war  against  the  fathers  of  these  very  men,  and 
established  a  nation,  free  and  independent !  A  refuge  for 
these  miserable  revilers  !  Then  it  was  that  American  dema 
gogues,  and  their  prostituted  retainers,  listened  to  and  ap 
plauded  the  detractors  of  their  own  countrymen,  and  seconded 


THE    UNDER-CURRENT    OF    PATRIOTISM.  269 

their  sneers  with  boisterous  mirth  and  acclamation  !     To  have 
favored  the  policy  of  the  American  party  was  to  be  despised 
and  insulted — to  declare  one's  self  an  American  in  principle 
was  to  be  shunned  in  public,  and  hated  in  private.     In  the 
family,  in  the  church,  in  the  public  mart,  and  the  private 
circles,  in  the  court  of  justice,  at  the  festival  or  the  funeral, 
in  business  or  at  leisure,  day  or  night,  sleeping  or  waking,  the 
"Native  American"   was  avoided   as   one    accursed!      And 
wherefore  ?     Because  he  had  dared  to  avow  and  uphold  the 
broad  principle  that  "  AMERICANS  ought  to  GOVERN  AMERICA." 
But  while  these  persecutions  were  heaped  as  burning  coals 
upon  the  heads  of  all  who  would  not  openly  kneel  before  the 
partisan  altar,  and  repent  of  their  patriotic  indiscretion,  all 
who  would  not  join  in  the  cry  of  condemnation  against  their 
fellow-countrymen  and  themselves  ;   although  that  spirit  of 
resistance  to  foreign  influence,  which  had,  for  a  brief  season, 
prevailed,  seemed  to  have  been  exorcised  for  ever ;  and  on  the 
surface  of  the  political  ocean  no  ripple  appeared  to  indicate 
its  continued  existence,  there  was,  gliding  beneath  the  dark 
waters  of  corruption,  a  small,  yet  swift  and  steady  under 
current,  which,  though  feeble  as  an  embryo,  was  destined,  to 
sway  in  the  future  as  a  torrent.     Silently,  deeply,  beyond  the 
heedless  gaze  of  the   self-confident  partisan,  and  the  more 
wary  wiles  of  the  scheming  Jesuit,  the  Order  of  United  Ameri 
cans  moved  onward,  gathering  strength  as  it  progressed,  and 
like   a   subterranean   streamlet,   gradually   undermining  the 
foundations  of  corrupt  political  structures,  or,  like  a.  quicksand, 
absorbing  the  ground-plans   for  papal   encroachment.      Its 
watchword  was  passed  from  city  to  city,  from  State  to  State, 


2*70  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

and  its  influence,  like  the  wind,  felt,  though  still  unseen,  ac 
cumulated  at  every  step.  A  few  bold  spirits,  too  independent 
to  fear,  and  too  firm  to  quail  before  the  threats  of  their  op 
ponents,  invincible  in  their  panoply  of  honesty,  at  length  came 
forth,  the  champions  and  exponents  of  the  principles  of  the 
Order.  Public  meetings  were  held,  and  addresses  delivered, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  association ;  in  the  cities,  in  the 
villages,  in  the  hamlets  of  the  country,  sometimes  under  the 
dome  of  the  sacred  edifice,  sometimes  in  the  public  hall,  some 
times  in  the  village  school-room,  or  under  the  canopy  of 
heaven ;  it  mattered  not ;  wherever  an  audience  could  be 
gathered  there  was  heard  the  voice  of  the  fearless  United 
American,  preaching  the  doctrines  of  American  patriotism, 
and  warning  the  people  against  the  Jesuit  and  the  demagogue. 
But  no  reporters  came  to  those  assemblages ; — the  public 
press  of  the  land  passed  them  by  with  the  silence  of  a  feigned 
contempt,  or  noticed  them  only  to  revile.  "  The  rich  Irish 
brogue,  and  the  sweet  German  accent,"  had  supplanted  the 
American  idiom,  and,  while  every  press  was  muzzled,  or 
turned  against  the  American  sentiment,  every  gathering  of 
foreigners  was  gazetted  with  fulsome  laudation.  Even  the 
popular  sentiment,  although  confessing  in  its  heart  the  sound 
ness  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Order,  lacked  the  moral  courage 
to  avow  openly  its  convictions.  Thousands  of  men  have  said 
to  the  orators  of  the  Order,  "Your  principles  are  correct— 
your  object  is  noble  and  patriotic,  but  your  cause  is  hopeless" 
They  gavo  to  the  members  of  the  Order  a  mingled  meed  of 
admiration  and  sympathy,  but  not  their  cooperation.  They 
Baid,  "It  is  too  late — the  foreign  influence  is  already  over- 


THE    FAINT-HEARTED    AND    THE    RESOLUTE.  2*71 

whelming,  and  the  fangs  of  the  Papacy  are  even  now  iu  our 
vitals  !"  And  so  they  retired  silently  to  their  homes,  hoping, 
doubtless,  that  they  might  possibly  live  out  their  span  of  life 
before  the  awful  climax  should  arrive,  yet  conscious  of  the 
fact  that  their  posterity  must  bow  before  the  blast !  They 
were  willing  to  admit  that  the  deadliest  foe  of  our  institutions 
— the  arch-enemy  of  liberty,  was  at  our  doors— nay,  actually 
within  our  household,  yet  refused  to  raise  a  hand  to  expel  or 
disarm  the  invader,  quieting  their  consciences  with  the  puerile 
plea,  "  it  is  too  late  /"  They  said,  in  effect — "  Our  forefathers 
have  provided  for  us,  let  posterity  provide  for  itself,"  and  under 
this  selfish  rejjige,  they  shut  themselves  up,  as  the  periwinkle 
in  his  shell,  and  thus  sheltered  themselves  from  the  fury  of 
the  b re  win  £  storm. 

O 

These  accumulated  discouragements  were  not  without  their 
effects.  Many  a  true  heart  became  weary  and  faint,  and  stop 
ped  by  the  wayside  for  breath ;  and  some  even  retreated  from 
the  unthankful  and  burdensome  task  which  they  had  assumed. 
But  there  were  enough  left  to  carry  on  the  work.  Though 
few,  they  were  resolute.  They  had  resolved,  like  Caius  Marius, 
to  sacrifice  themselves  for  the  salvation  of  the  people.  Their 
highest  hope  wais  that  they  might  inspire  their  countrymen 
with  a  renewed  spirit  of  nationality,  awakening  in  their  minds 
a  sense  of  the  impending  danger,  and  thus,  in  their  own  time, 
pave  the  way  for  an  effective  resistance  of  the  Anti-American 
theories  and  influences  which  were  rapidly  usurping  the  place 
of  our  time-honoured  customs,  sentiments,  laws,  and  consti 
tutions. 

It  is  undeniable  that  our  people  were  becoming  strangely 


272  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

un- American! zed,  both  socially  and  politically,  and  the  first 
slop  of  the  ( >rutT  of  Uuit<  d  imericans  was  to  bring  back  the 
train  of  popular  thinking  to  something  like  the  old-time 
standard  of  American  Republicanism.  Her  orators  made  war 
upon  theories,  influences,  and  innovations,  rather  than  upon 
men  or  classes.  Their  effort  was  to  conserve  what  was  in  pos 
session,  and  restore  what  had  been  squandered,  not  to  tear 
down  the  old,  and  build  up  a  new  system.  They  presented 
no  hypothesis ;  but  the  simple,  demonstrative  theory  of  self- 
preservation,  and  this  they  strove  to  present  in  its  simplest 
aspect,  to  the  people. 

Against  the  current  of  obstacles  presented,  the  Order  made 
a  steady  though  not  a  rapid  progress.  The  expense  of  obtain 
ing  and  holding  membership  in  the  Order  was  in  itself  a  seri 
ous  obstacle  in  the  way  of  accumulating  a  large  membership, 
vet,  although  slow,  its  course  was  never  retrograde.  It  was 
established,  as  I  have  stated,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1844,  in 
the  city  of  New  York:  in  that  State  it  now  numbers  (1855) 
ninety  Chapters,  which  are  distributed  in  .every  portion  of  the 
State.  On  the  17th  of  June,  1846,  it  was  organized  in  Mas 
sachusetts.  In  1848  the  order  was  first  started  in  New  Jer 
sey.  In  Pennsylvania  it  was  organized  in  1848.  On  the  22d 
of  August,  1849  the  first  Chapter  was  instituted  in  Connecti 
cut.  In  California  it  was  instituted  in  the  year  1850,  by 
Messrs.  Robt.  D.  Hart,  John  W.  Ackerman,  Charles  M.  Yar- 
\vood,  and  a  few  gentlemen,  who  were  then  members  of  the 
order  in  the  Eastern  States.  Mr.  Hart  was  the  projector  and 
first  Sachem  of  EUREKA  CHAPTER,  located  at  San  Francisco. 
The  undertaking  was  one  involving,  at  that  time,  great  pecun- 


INCREASE  OF  THE  ORDER.  273 

iary  responsibility,  a  responsibility  which  nothing  but  an 
earnest  and  patriotic  zeal  could  have  induced  its  members  to 
take  upon  themselves.  The  rent  alone  of  the  room  in  which 
the  Chapter  held  its  meetings  was  $150  per  month,  or  $1800 
per  annum.  Eureka  Chapter  is  still  in  existence,  and  has 
been  effective  in  both  its  beneficial  and  political  character. 

In  1854  the  order  was  instituted  in  the  States  of  Vermont, 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Michigan,  and  in  1855  it  has 
been  instituted-  in  Missouri,  Ohio,  Virginia,  District  of  Colum 
bia,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Louisi 
ana,  and  Rhode  Island. 

The  first  organized  political  effort  of  the  order  occurred  in 
1846,  and  was  directed  against  the  adoption  of  the  New 
Constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York.  That  Constitution,  which 
had  been  prepared  by  a  convention  of  partisans,  and  which 
was  about  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  for  their  approval, 
contained  several  provisions  repulsive  to  the  sentiment  of  the 
Order,  and  hostile  to  the  interests  of  the  State,  and  the  purity 
of  the  franchise.  From  the  day  that  the  State  of  New  York 
first  Became  a  State,  its  Constitution  had  sustained  the  prin 
ciple  set  forth  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  viz., 
that  the  highest  executive  officer  should  be  an  American  by 
birth.  No  naturalized  citizen  had  been  eligible  to  the  office 
of  Governor,  or  Lieutenant  Governor.  The  new  Constitution 
struck  out  that  principle,  and  extended  that  time-honored, 
conservative  prerogative  of  the  native-born  American  to  for 
eigners.  It  gave  to  foreigners  the  right  to  govern  the  Ameri 
can  people,  and  to  execute  the  laws  of  an  American  State. 
The  State  had  also,  from  its  incipiency,  recognized  by  its 
12* 


274  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY.    ' 

Constitution  the  principle  that  ministers  of   religion,  being 
devoted  by  their  profession  to  the  care  of  souls,  ought  not  to 
interfere  with  affairs  of  State,  and  that,  therefore,  they  should 
not  be  eligible  to  any  political  office  whatever.      The  new 
Constitution  struck  out  this  principle  also,  and  vested  this 
class  of  citizens  with  the  right  to  hold  any  political  office 
within  the  gift  of  the  people.     By  these  two  provisions  of  the 
new  Constitution  it  will  be  seen  that  a  foreign  ecclesiastic  was 
made  eligible  to  the  executive  chair  of  the  State.     Ergo,  a 
foreign  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  might,  through  the  chicanery 
of  parties,  be  made  Governor  of  New  York,  and  thus  a  per 
fect  union  of  the  Church  and  the  State  would  be  brought 
about.    But,  apart  from  this  extreme  view  of  the  case,  a  feature 
so  well  calculated  to  bring  the  State  into  collusion  with  reli 
gion,  was  deemed  anti-American  in  its  whole  bearing,  and 
dangerous  to  civil  and  religious  liberty.     This  was  of  course 
obnoxious  to  the  sentiment  of  the  Order,  and  therefore  the 
Order  opposed  it. 

A  third  objectionable  feature  was  that  the  new  Constitution 
provided  for  an  elective  JUDICIARY.  It  was  apprehended  that 
such  a  system  would  tend  to  bring  the  judiciary  into  collusion 
with  partisan  corruptions;  and  that  judges  who  owed  their 
honors  and  their  emoluments  to  the  vote  of  a  party,  might 
through  the  frailties  of  human  nature,  be  brought  to  tear  the 
bandage  from  the  eyes  of  Justice,  and  stain  the  ermine  of  their 
office  with  partiality. 

These  features  brought  down  upon  the  new  Constitution  the 
opposition  of  the  United  Americans.  At  this  time  the  Order 
was  yet  in  its  infancy,  and  its  membership  extended  scarcely 


INFLUENCE    OF    THE    ORDER.  275 

beyond  the  limits  of  the  city  of  New  York.  Its  influence 
was,  therefore,  confined  to  that  locality.  It  was  not  long,  how 
ever,  in  creating  a  feeling  of  popular  hostility  towards  the 
new  Constitution,  and  although  that  instrument  was  ratified 
by  the  popular  vote  of  the  State,  yet  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
where  the  Order  brought  its  influence  to  bear  in  opposition  to 
it,  a  majority  of  over  twenty  thousand  votes  was  given  against 
its  ratification  ! 

Again,  in  1850,  the  whole  country  was  agitated,  and  the 
Union  itself  shaken  to  its  foundation  by  the  rancorous  debates 
then  pending  in  both  Houses  of  Congress.     The  subjects  of 
discussion  were  certain    territorial    organizations,  the  Texas 
boundary,  the  admission  of  California,  and  the  fugitive  slave 
law,  all  involving  the  vexed  and  vexing  question  of  slavery. 
The  zealots  of  the  North,  and  the  zealots  of  the  South  had 
seized  again  upon   this   apple  of  discord  and  with  flaming 
eloquence  had  ruptured  and  consumed  all  ties  of  harmony, 
and  absorbed  all    interests  save    the   geographical  interests 
of  opposing  sections.     Keason  seemed  for  a  time  to  have  for 
saken  her  throne — partisan  attachments  were  submerged  in 
the  frenzy  of  local  factions — the  North  standing  against  the 
South,  and  the  South  against  the  North— until  all  fraternal 
sentiments  hrd  been  discarded,  and  a  dissolution  of  the  Union 
seemed  inevitable. 

In  this  terrific  crisis  the  Order  of  United  Americans  resolved 
to  make  an  effort  to  stay  the  current  of  civil  strife,  and  to 
bring  back  order  out  of  chaos.  The  duty  of  conceiving  and  per 
fecting  a  plan  for  the  accomplishment  of  so  singular  and  deli 
cate  a  trust  was  confided  to  a  committee  of  nine  members  of 


276  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

the  Chancery  of  New  York.     That  committee  set  forth  on  its 
mission  with  the  hypothesis  that  the  entire  public  sentiment 
of  the  country,  both  North  and  South,  was  outraged  by  the 
course  pursued  by  the  national  representatives,  and  eager  for 
a  cessation  of  the  dangerous  controversy.     They  determined 
to  obtain,  if  possible,  an  unequivocal  expression  of  that  public 
sentiment.     The  most  convenient  way  to  obtain  speedily  such 
an  expression  was  by  public  assemblages.     Accordingly,  at 
their  individual  suggestion,  in  less  than  "ten  days  from  the 
passage   of   the  resolution  in   Chancery,  there  appeared  in 
nearly  every  daily  and  weekly  paper  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
editorial  articles,  denouncing  the  agitation  then  pending  in 
Congress,  and  calling  upon  the  people  everywhere,  to  assembl. 
in  their  primary  capacity,  and,  with  appropriate  resolutic 
and  proceedings,  demand  of  tteiT  representatives  a  cessation 
of  their  hostile  feud.     The  first  result  of  this  course  was 
spontaneous  organization  of  a  committee  of  respectable  , 
well-known  citizens  of  New  York,  disconnected  with  the  order, 
and  under  the  auspices  of  that  committee  there  was  gather 
within  and  about  the  immense  enclosure  of  Castle  < 
the  proudest  and  most  numerous   meeting  of   citizens    eve 
congregated  in  the  Empire  city.     Men  of  every  party  mingle* 
there  with  a  patriotic  enthusiasm,  the  Native  American,  tl 
Whig,  and  the  Democrat;  and  from  that  assemblage  went 
forth   a  voice  which  pierced   the  remotest  portic 

Union. 

Tammany  Hall  was  next  besieged  in  continuation  c 
good  work,  and  for  once  at  least  in  her  (modern)  history  her 
time-honored  walls  rang  with  the  notes  of  pure  patriotism. 


ITS    GOOD    WORKS.  277 

Broadway  House  followed  immediately  in  the  wake  of  Old 
Tammany,  and  sent  forth  her  resolutions  of  condemnation. 
The  flame  once  lighted  spread  like  a  fire  on  the  prairies ; 
Union  meetings  were  held  at  Philadelphia,  Boston,  Detroit, 
New  Haven,  and  in  every  quarter  of  the  land,  and  from  them 
went  the  united  voice  of  an  indignant  sovereign  people,  roll 
ing  onward  with  increasing  force,  until  it  thundered  against 
the  doors  of  the  capitol  in  tones  not  to  be  misunderstood  or 
unheeded !  The  frantic  legislators,  startled  by  the  sound, 
paused  in  their  mad  career.  A  lull  in  the  storm  of  passion 
ensued;  men  were  brought  back  to  reflection— they  saw  the 
popular  will  suspended  like  the  sword  of  Damocles,  by  a 
single  hair  above  them,  and  they  shrank  from  the  threatening- 
blade.  A  compromise,  the  celebrated  compromise  of  1850, 
was  effected,  and  the  hour  of  peril  was  past !  This  was  the 
work  of  the  ORDER  OF  UNITED  AMERICANS. 

During  the  same  year,  the  Common  School  system  of  the 
State  of  New  York  was  in  danger  of  a  total  abrogation. 
During  the  last  previous  session  of  the  legislature,  Jesuitism, 
having  failed  to  secure  an  open  apportionment  of  the  school 
fund  for  its  own  purposes,  obtained  the  passage  of  an  act, 
submitting  the  public  school  law  a  second  time  to  the  popular 
decision;  the  people  having  just  before  approved  it  by  ;, 
majority  of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  votes.  After 
the  passage  of  this  submissive  act,  the  Romanists  set  every 
engine  of  their  machinery  at  work,  In  order  to  secure  a  repeal 
of  the  school  law,  bishop,  priest,  Jesuit,  and  layman  were 
active  with  sophistry  among  the  people,  and  it  was  soon 
apparent  that  a  mysterious  change  was  taking  place  in  the 


278       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

public  mind  towards  the  system.  The  friends  of  popular 
education,  viewing  those  symptoms  with  alarm,  called  a  con 
vention  to  be  holden  at  the  city  of  Syracuse,  for  the  purpose 
of  devising  means  to  prevent  the  overthrow  of  the  public 
schools.  To  that  convention  the  Order  of  United  Americans 
sent  a  delegate — and  to  that  convention  the  editor  of  the 
Freeman's  Journal,  that  bitter  and  unscrupulous  foe  of  our 
schools,  was  invited.  Both  were  present  in  convention,  the 
delegate  and  the  editor.  The  latter  gave  as  his  opinion  that 
the  education  of  children  should  be  entrusted  only  to  the 
Church,  and  when  he  was  asked  "  what  Church  ?"  he  answered : 
"  I  know  of  but  one  Church — I  mean,  of  course",  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church."  The  delegate,  on  the  other  hand,  related 
the  course  that  had  been  pursued  by  the  editor  in  opposition 
to  the  whole  system  of  public  education,  and  exposed  the 
devices  and  efforts  of  the  Romanists  as  a  body  to  destroy  the 
public  schools.  Thus  a  new  view  of  the  subject  was  presented 
to  the  public  mind — a  better  feeling  towards  the  system  sprang 
Up — men  who  had  been  opposed  to  the  system  as  one  imposing 
unequal  and  unjust  taxation,  became  its  friends,  and  the  public 
schools  were  saved,  though  by  a  greatly  reduced  majority. 

Thus  the  Order  of  United  Americans  have,  in  numerous 
instances,  silently  and  unostentatiously  put  forth  the  arm  of 
conservative  influence,  and  always  with  effect.  Assimilating 
with  no  political  party,  it  has  always  occupied  an  attitude  of 
independence — making  no  nominations  peculiarly  its  own,  it 
has  afforded  no  inducements  to  personal  ambition  among  its 
members,  and  in  this  posture  it  has  operated  as  an  American 
balance  of  power  between  rival  factions,  invariably  striking 


FIDELITY    TO    THE    INTERESTS    OF    THE    PEOPLE.  279 

down  the  candidate  of  either  party  whose  antecedents  were 
those  of  the  demagogue  or  the  pander  to  foreign  or  Romish 
influences.  Regarding  "  the  unity  of  government"  which  con 
stitutes  us  one  people,  in  the  language  of  Washington,  as 
"the  main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  our  real  independence,"  and 
as  the  "  support  of  that  very  liberty  which  we  so  highly  prize," 
it  has  been  the  firm  and  the  steadfast  advocate  of  the  Union, 
and  the  sovereign  rights  of  the  States.  Regarding'  "foreign 
influence  "  as  "  one  of  the  most  baneful  foes  of  a  republican 
government,"  it  has  unwaveringly  resisted  that  influence  in 
whatever  form  it  may  have  been  presented.  Regarding  popu 
lar  intelligence,  regulated  by  a  sense  of  true  religion  and 
morality,  as  the  palladium  that  must  shield  us  from  the  in 
roads  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  it  has  been  the  fearless 
champion  of  free  schools  and  an  open  Bible.  Regarding  the 
popular  suffrage  as  a  freeman's  heritage,  to  be  exercised  either 
for  or  against  our  institutions  of  civil  liberty,  it  has  stead 
fastly  striven  to  maintain  the  purity  of  the  ballot-box,  and  to 
withhold  therefrom  all  deleterious  and  dangerous  influences. 
In  the  language  of  the  preamble  to  its  constitution,  its  political 
action  has  been  "  adapted  to  the  exigency  of  the  crisis"  that 
has  arisen,  and  "  its  polar  star  has  ever  been  the  salvation  of 
our  country,  and  its  institutions." 


280         A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE  "KNOW  NOTHINGS"— ORIGIN  AND  RISK   OF  THE   ORDER— ITS    MIS-ION'. 

THE  vast  organization  which  is  at  present  so  numerous  and 
powerful  in  the  United  States,  vulgarly  denominated  ''Know 
Nothings,"  was  originally  conceived  and  planned  by  a  gentle 
man  of  New  York,  who,  singularly  enough,  had  never  been 
associated  with  any  other  American  political  organization,  nor 
actively  engaged  with  either  of  the  political  parties.  As  early 
as  1849  this  gentleman  prepared  and  systematized  his  plan  for 
uniting  the  National  sentiment  of  the  American  people,  against 
the  foreign  and  papal  encroachments  so  frequently  occurring 
and  concentrating  in  the  political  atmosphere,  and  began, 
among  his  immediate  friends,  the  work  of  recruiting  members 
and  co-workers.  But  after  more  than  two  years  of  persever 
ing  effort  his  associates  numbered  scarcely  thirty,  all  told. 

With  most  of  men,  this  ill  success  would  have  proven  a 
fatal  source  of  discouragement,  but  the  author  of  this  move 
ment  was  not  the  man  to  yield  the  palm  of  victory  to  any 
obstacle,  so  long  as  his  own  judgment  remained  true  to  his 
purpose.  This  was  his  case.  He  never  lost  confidence  in 
the  plan  which  he  had  laid  out,  and  with  a  full  conviction 


m 

ne- 


TIIE  "KNOW  NOTHINGS."  281 

that  his  system  was  both  feasible  and  just,  he  persevered. 
Although  a  man  of  fine  iIlteUigence  and  clear  judgment,  the 
founder  of  this  association  was  not  an  orator.  It  was  not  his 
faculty  to  rise  before  an  audience  of  his  countrymen,  and  i 
glowing  language  depict  either  the  construction  of,  or  the 
cessities  that  called  for  the  organization  of  which  he  was  the 
progenitor,  and  to  this  circumstance,  doubtless,  may  be  at 
tributed,  in  a  great  degree,  the  tardy  propagation  of  his 
measure. 

In   1852,  a  few   active  members  of  the  Order  of  United 
Americans  were  induced  to  examine  this  new  plan.     They 
found  a  society  consisting  of  forty-three  members.     The  general 
objects  of  the  association    were  the  same   as  those  of  the 
0.  U.  A.,  but  the  qualifications  necessary  to  obtain  membership 
were  iar  more  restrictive,  and  the  appurtenances  of  secrecy 
more  specific  and  stringent,  and  although  the  plan  was  some 
what  incomplete  in  detail,  and  unadapted  to  the  government 
of  an  expanded  organization,  extending  over  and  ramifying 
all  the  States  and  territories  of  the  Union,  it  yet  presented  one 
peculiar  feature  calculated  to  promote  a  rapid,  if  not  a  healthy 
growth.     It  cost  nothing   to  acquire  and  hold  membership, 
Having  no  beneficial  feature  to  demand  funds  for  charitable 
purposes,  it  required  no  such  fund,  and  as  the  plan  did  not 
seem  to  contemplate  any  systematic  or  stated  meetings,  or 
even  the  sub-division  of  the  Order  into  "Councils,"  no  pro 
vision  had  been  made  for  room-rent.     No  fees  or  dues  what 
ever  were,   charged   upon  the    members,  the  whole    system 
relying  on  voluntary  contributions  for  its  pecuniary  support. 
The  groundwork  had  beon  laid  out  for  an  immense  army, 


282        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

with  a  general  and  staff  at  the  head,  but  without  companies, 
regiments,  or  even  a  commissariat. 

The  first  requisite  was  members,  the  next  a  more  solid  and 
consecutive  system  of  organization.     It  was  evident  that  the 
plan,  once  well  organized,  pruned,  and  adapted  more  strictly 
to  the  republican  spirit  of  the  people,  would  afford  a  powerful 
auxiliary  in  promoting  and  disseminating  the  theory  and  de 
mands  of  the  American  policy.     Its  plan  of  political  action, 
like  that  of  the  Order  of  United  Americans,  contemplated 
the  control  rather  than  the  making  of  nominations,  proper ; 
hence  in  that  respect  there  could  be  no  clashing  in  their 
modus  of  procedure.     As  yet  the  new  order  had  no  stated 
time  or  place  of  meeting.     It  was  called  together  whenever 
occasion  required,  by  the  president,  either  at  a  private  house, 
or  in  some  lodge-room,  after  the  lodge  had  adjourned ;  and 
at  each  meeting  small  collections  were  taken  to  defray  what 
ever  slight  expense  might  have  been  incurred.     The  giant 
that  was  destined  to  grind  the  corrupt  parties  of  the  country 
into  powder,  to  appall  the  demagogue,  and  shake  to  pieces 
the  political  papal  structure  in  the  United  States,  was  as  yet 
but  an  embryo,  a  conception  unborn ! 

Immediate  measures  were  taken  to  increase  the  member 
ship,  and  for  that  purpose  the  Chapters  of  the  Order  of  United 
Americans  were  prolific  of  material.  Meetings  of  the  new 
Order  were  held  at  various  places,  almost  every  evening,  and 
at  each  meeting  many  were  added  to  its  membership.  Com 
mittees  were  soon  formed,  with  proper  dispensations  to  initiate 
members,  and  thus,  nightly,  two  or  three  of  these  commit 
tees  were  engaged  in  the  work  of  recruiting,  and  in  less  than 


INFANCY  OF  THE  ORDER.  283 

four  months  the  membership  amounted  to  about  one  thou 
sand  persons.  It  was  soon  found  necessary  to  obtain  a  place 
for  general  assemblages  of  the  order,  and  a  large  hall  was 
hired  for  that  purpose  on  Broadway.  There  a  series  of  weekly 
meetings  were  instituted,  at  which  from  six  hundred  to  eight 
hundred  members  were  regularly  assembled.  At  those  meet 
ings  the  freedom  of  speech  was  unabridged — addresses  were 
delivered,  and  an  enthusiasm  created  on  behalf  of  the  Ameri 
can  policy  which  could  have  been  aroused  by  no  other, 
means. 

Thus  far  the  membership  had  been  gathered  in  from  all 
parts  of  the  city  indiscriminately,  and  no  "  councils "  had 
been  formed,  except  the  one  great  council  to  which  the  mem 
bers  rallied  in  their  weekly  gatherings.  The  hive  was  over 
flowing,  and  for  the  want  of  the  elements  for  an  expanded 
action,  it  was  inoperative  To  be  effective,  councils  were 
needed  in  every  ward  of  the  city,  every  county  in  the  State, 
and  overy  State  and  territory  of  the  Union. 

The  constitution  was  accordingly  revised  for  that  purpose. 
A  system  of  national,  State,  and  subordinate,  or  local  councils 
was  adopted,  and  several  other  amendments  perfected  in 
accordance  with  the  necessities  of  a  wide-spread  and  numer 
ous  organization.  The  effect  was  immediately  visible.  Like 
a  vast  .body  of  pent  up  waters  when  the  floodgates  have  burst 
asunder,  the  membership  poured  forth  in  torrents  :— councils 
were  founded  in  the  several  wards  of  the  city,  thence  in  the 
interior  counties  of  the  State.  Soon  after  the  order  was  planted 
in  some  of  the  adjoining  States,  and  eventually  in  every  State 
and  territory  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 


284        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

The  organization  of  the  order  in  the  several  States  occurred 
in  the  following  order. 

In  New  York,  April  4,  1852.    State  Council  formed,  Dec.  7, 
1853. 

In  New  Jersey,    April,   1853.     State  Council,  November, 
1853. 

In  Vermont,  (Date  unknown.) 

In  Maryland,  May  22,  1853.     State  Council,  October  14, 
1853. 

In  Connecticut,  July  1853.  .  State  Council,  November,  1853. 

In  Massachusetts,  September  6,  1853.    State  Council,  Octo 
ber,  1853. 

In  Pennsylvania,  December  10,  1853.     State  Council,  in 
spring  of  1854. 

In  Ohio,  in  the  fall  of  1853. 

In  Washington,  D.  C.,  January  23,  1854. 

In  New  Hampshire,  February   6,   1854.     State  Council, 
June,  1854. 

In  Indiana,  State  Council  formed,  February,  1854. 

In   Rhqjle  Island,  March,   1854.     State  Council,  July  10, 
1854. 

In  Maine,  March,  1854.     State  Council,  July,  1854. 

In  Alabama,  State  Council,  April  or  May,  1854. 

In  Georgia,  May,  1854.     State  Council  same  year. 

In  Illinois,  May  25,  1854.     State  Council,  June  18,  1854. 
In  Michigan,  June  2,  1854.     State  Council  same  month. 
In  Iowa,  July  26,  1854.     State  Council,  October  5,  1854. 
In  Wisconsin,  State  Council,  August  30,  1854. 
In  North  Carolina,  August  or  September,  1854. 


INCREASE  OF  THE  ORDER.  285 

In  South  Carolina,  State  Council,  October  2,  1854. 
In  Kentucky,  State  Council,  August,  1854. 
In  Missouri,  State  Council,  Sept.,  1854. 
In  Tennessee,  State  Council,  October,  1854 
In  Virginia,  (Date  unknown.) 
In  Delaware,  State  Council,  October,  1854. 
In  Mississippi,  State  Council,  November,  1854. 
In- Texas,  State  Council,  fall  of  1854. 
In  Florida,  State  Council,  December,  1854. 
In  Arkansas,  State  Council,  December,  1854. 
In  California,  State  Council,  formed  fall  of  1854. 
In  Louisiana.     (In  this  State  there  are  two  organizations- 
The  first  was  started  early  in  1854;  this  has  been  repudiated 
by  the  National  Council  as  spurious.     The  second,  which  is 
recognized  as  legitimate,  was  organized  in  September,  1854.) 
In  Oregon,  September,  1854. 
In  Minnesota,  State  Council,  formed  in  May,  1855. 
In  New  Mexico,.Kansas,  and  Nebraska  the  order  was  estab 
lished  during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1855. 

Thus,  in  about  three  years  from  the  organization  of  the 
it  council  in  the  city  of  New  York,  we  find  this  extraor 
dinary  political  society,  not  only  established,  but  exertino-  a 
powerful  influence  in  every  State  and  territory  of  the  whole 
Union,  and  numbering  in  its  membership  at  least  r>ne  and  a 
half  million  of  legal  voters!  And  among  its  adherents- 
the  open  advocates  and  exponents  of  its  principles,  we  find 
many  of  the  brightest  intelligences,  the  ablest  statesmen  and 
the  purest  patriots  of  the  land.  It  is  plain  to  the  commonest, 
as  well  as  to  the  most  acute  understanding,  that  results  so  im- 


286  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

posing  could  never  have   been   achieved  upon  a  "narrow- 
minded,"  "  bigoted,"  or  «  proscriptive  "  proposition.     None  of 
the  elements  of  coercion,  or  superstition,  nor  the  authorita 
tive  force  of  intelligence  over  ignorance  have  been  employed 
in  their  development.     The  whole  work  has  been   performed 
within  a  nation  of  intelligences  ;  where  every  man  is  his  own 
monitor ;  the  master  of  his  own  opinions ;  free  to  approve  or 
condemn  by  the  test  of  his  own  conscience  and  his  own  judg 
ment,  and  by  that  test  this  million  and  a  half  of  freemen  ^ 
have  recorded  their  verdict  in  favor  of  the  American  policy. 

The  principles  which  actuated  the  order  were  precisely  the 
principles  which  actuated  the  American  party  in  1834  and 
1844,  and  the  objects  sought  to  be  obtained  by  the  order 
were  the  objects  sought  to  be  obtained  by  that  party.  The 
success  of  the  experiment  has  proven  conclusively  that  when 
the  popular  mind  is  left  untrammelled  by  partisan  influences, 
and  free  to  exercise  its  own  proper  functions,  away  from  the 
corrupting  sophistry  of  the  demagogue,  tfce  patriotic  senti 
ment  will  prevail,  and  a  stern,  inflexible  spirit  of  nationality 
will  preponderate  over  the  mercenary  or  factional  demands 
of  a  mere  party. 

The  advent  of  this  organization  was  most  opportune  for  the 
\eace  of  the  country,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  Union  of 
States.  The  old  parties  had  already  exhausted  their  legiti 
mate  resources  of  cohesion,  and  become  effete,  and  their  com 
ponents  were  gradually  dissolving  into  a  sectional  slime,  whose 
stagnant  and  fetid  odors  would  have  been  poisonous  to  the 
national  health.  Already  the  current  of  political  fraternity 
had  ceased  to  flow  across  the  geographical  line,  dividing  the 


NATIONALITY    OF    THE    ORDER.  287 

Northern  from  the  Southern  States,  and  as  a  natural  result 
of  estrangement,  sectional  hostilities  were  being  engendered 
in  their  most  noxious  form.  National  parties  had  ceased  to 
exist,  except  pro  forma,  and  the  whole  political  blood  of  the 
country  was  running  in  adverse  directions,  the  one  portion 
into  a  channel  of  aggression  upon  the  sovereignty  of  the 
States,  and  the  other  into  that  of  disunion.  The  advent  of  the 
American  organization  opened  a  new  avenue  to  intersectional 
harmony.  It  broke  down  the  imaginary  line  of  Mason  and 
Dixon,  and  re-established  political  inter-communication  be 
tween  the  North  and  the  South;  it  stoutly  declared  against 
both  of  the  opposing  factions,  and  fearlessly  stood  forth 
the  advocate  of  State  sovereignty,  and  the  foe  of  the  spirit 
of  disunion. 


288  A    DEFENCE    OF    'HIE    AM1IEICAN    POLICY. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE  «KN-OW  NOTHINGS ''-PROGRESS  OF  TUB  ORDER-ITS  INFLUENCE-ITS  ENEMIES- 
THE  FREE  SOIL  INOCULATION  AND  EXPULSION-MASSACHUSETS-THE  PHILADELPHI 
CONVENTION— PARASITES THE  MISSION  FULFILLED. 

IT  was  not  in  the  nature  of  things  that  an  organization,  wield 
ing  so  powerful  a  political  influence  as  this  has  done,  could 
long  escape,  even  in  its  secret  chambers,  the  hostility  of 
startled  demagogues. 

Its  mysterious  successes  first  called  the  attention  of  political 
parties  to  its  existence.  Unseen  and  unknown,  it  wielded  an 
overwhelming  influence  wherever  it  developed  its  power. 
Demagogues  fell  before  the  swing  of  its  keen  scythe  like 
grass  before  'the  mower,  and  in  dismay  found  themselves 
enveloped  in  defeat  where  victory  seemed  more  certain.  In 
many  a  district,  where  its  existence  was  unsuspected,  it  has, 
in  an  hour,  like  the  unseen  wind,  swept  the  corruptiomst 
from  his  power  and  placed  in  office  the  unsoliciting  but 
honest  and  capable  citizen. 

The  unscrupulous  leaders  of  every  faction  and  party,  saw 
in  the  up-growing  giant,  a  power  which,  if  left  to  itself, 
would  become  the  ruling  spirit  of  the  nation,  and  as 
ingredients  were  found  to  be  utterly  uncongenial  with  their 
habits,  and  utterly  foreign  to  their  desire,  it  was  plain  that 
in  the  BUCC686  of  that  organization  their  hope*  of  aggrandize- 


EFFORTS  TO  DESTROY  THE  ORDER.          289 

ment  would  be  blasted  for  ever.     No  obstacle  had  ever  been 
presented  so  formidable  to  their  plans.     Before  they  were 
well  aware  of  its  existence,  it  had  risen  to  such  magnitude  as 
to  set  at  defiance   all   the  ordinary  machinery  of  partisan 
hatred  and  hostility.     It  had  already  taken  too  deep  a  root 
in  the  public  mind  to  be  overthrown  by  an  assault  upon  its 
avowed  principles,  and  it  was  even  then  so  numerous  as  to 
overwhelm  any  single  faction  that  should  have  ventured  to 
stand  up  as  its  opponent.     It  could  not  be  strangled  with  de 
famation  as  the  American  party  had  twice  been  strangled ; 
it  could  not  be  beaten  in  an  honorable  and  open  issue  at  the 
ballot-box;    it  could  not  be  decoyed  from    its    purpose    by 
promises  of  patronage,  nor  coerced  from  it  by  persecution 
and  proscription,  both  of  which  were  (and  still  are)  employed  to 
destroy  it,  by  the  General  Government  at  Washington,  and  as  all 
these  expedients  failed,  it  was  at  length  determined  to  try  the 
plan  of  subversion.     The  fortress  that  could  not  be  reduced 
either  by  storm  or  siege,  might,  it  was  thought,  be  undermined. 
In  the  State  of  New  York  the  followers  of  William   H. 
Seward  sent  their  emissaries  into  the  councils  of  the  order. 
They  entered  with  a  feigned  admiration  of  its  principles,  and 
bound  themselves  by  the  strongest  of  moral  obligations  to 
sustain  the  measures  of  the  organization.     They  went  even 
so  far  as  to  create  one  or  more  councils  in  the  rural  districts, 
for  which  they  obtained  the  requisite  authority  from  the  legal 
head  of  the  order  in  the  State,  and  continued  to  act  with  the 
order  with  the  strongest  assurances  of  fidelity.     They  chose 
delegates  to  the  State  and  National  Councils,  and  were  in  all 
respects  in  the  full  confidence  of  the  fraternity  at  largo. 

13 


290       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

The  defective   character  of  these  organizations  was  first 
developed  at  a  State  convention,  held  at  Syracuse,  in  the  fall 
of  1854,  for  the  nomination  of  candidates  for  a  governor, 
lieutenant  governor,  and  certain  State  officers.    This  convention 
had  been  called  ostensibly  as  a  whig  convention,  but  in  it  the 
members  of  the  order  held  a  considerable  majority.     It  soon 
became  apparent,  however,  that  the  order  was  not  so  well  re 
presented  in  spirit  as  in  numbers.     Men  professing  its  princi 
ples  were  opposed  to  its  candidates,  and  although  the  Seward 
faction  failed  in  the  choice  of  their  favorite,  they  succeeded 
in  nominating  Myron  H.  Clark  for  governor,  under  the  plea 
that  he  was  a  member  of  a  legitimate  council  of  the  order  in 
full  fellowship.      It  was  soon  discovered,  however,   that  a 
fraud  had  been  practised ;  Mr.  Clark  was  found  to  be  iden 
tified  with  the  free-soil  or  Seward  faction  of  what  was  once 
the  whig  party,  and  the  order  generally  refused  to  support 
his  nomination.     Measures  were  taken  for  the  nomination  of 
another  candidate  on  behalf  of  the  order  itself.     This  step  was 
stoutly  resisted  by  the  council  at  Utica,  and  a  few  others  in 
the  interior  of  State,  and  by  this  and  their  subsequent  action 
the  true  character  of  those  councils  was  developed;   they 
were  shown  to  be  no  more  than  spies  in  the  camp. 

A  meeting  of  the  State  Council  was  soon  after  held  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  at  which  Daniel  Ullmann,  Esq.,  was  nomi 
nated  as  the  American  candidate  for  governor,  and  a  full 
State  ticket  was  prepared.  Those  nominations  the  Utica 
council  with  its  associates  refused  to  sustain,  and  they  were 
subsequently  expelled  from  the  order.  The  shock  occasioned 
by  this  ruse  was  but  momentary.  The  order  having  purified 


THE    ORDER    IN    MASSACHUSETTS.  291 

itself  by  shaking  off  the  excrescences  that  had  been  fastened 
upon  it  by  the  abolition  interests  and  the  followers  of  Mr.  Se- 
ward,  progressed  as  though  nothing  had  occurred  to  interrupt 
the  harmony  of  its  proceedings,  or  the  success  of  its  aims. 

At  that  time  not  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  towns  in  the 
State  had  been  reached  by  the  organizations  of  the  order,  and 
its  nominations  were  made  rather  with  a  view  to  concentrate 
the  American  vote  of  the  State  as  a  distinct  element,  than 
with  any  expectation  of  electing  its  candidate.  Yet,  their 
candidate  for  governor  received  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
thousand  votes,  a  result,  under  all  circumstances,  at  once 
gratifying  and  encouraging  to  the  friends  of  the  American 
policy.  Since  that  election  the  order  has  largely  increased 
its  membership,  and  its  organizations  extend  to  every  town 
ship  in  the  State.* 

In  Massachusetts,  although  the  same  elements  appeared,  to 
distract  the  national  spirit  of  the  order,  they  were  presented 
in  a  different  form.  In  that  State,  free-soilism  had  long  be 
fore  become  a  popular  sentiment,  a  sort  of  moral  epi 
demic,  from  the  influence  of  which  few  of  its  citizens  escaped. 
The  introduction  of  this  sectional  element  into  the  order  in 
that  commonwealth,  was  therefore  by  a  natural  process.  No 
subterfuge  was  necessary.  The  citizens  entered  the  order 
with  the  true  American  spirit,  and  with  a  resolute,  honest  in- 

*  At  the  election  held  the  year  following;  viz.,  in  November,  1855,  the  American 
State  candidates  received  one  hundred  and  forty -six  thousand  votes,  and  wero 
elected  with  a  plurality  of  more  than  ten  thousand  over  the  candidates  of  the  free 
soil  combination.  This  conclusively  shows  that  the  policy  of  Mr.  Seward  is  not 
sustained  by  the  people  of  his  own  State. 


292        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

tention  to  abide  by  its  doctrines,  and  sustain  its  measures— 
but    they   carried   with   them  imperceptibly,   thoir   free-soil 
proclivities.     At  the  first  election  they  secured  to  themselves 
the  entire  government  of  the  State,  and  in  all  their  public  nets 
which  involved  directly  the  American  doctrine,  they  exhibited 
an  unwavering  fidelity  to  the  cause  they  had  espoused.     But 
the  inner  sentiment— the  free-soil  proclivity  developed  itself 
in  the  choice  of  United  States  Senator,  in  the  passage  of  the 
"Personal  Liberty  Bill"— and  subsequently  in  their  attempted 
persecution  of  Judge  Loring,  for  having,  in  his  judicial  cha 
racter,  sustained  the  fugitive  slave  law.     When  censured  for 
these    acts   they   sheltered  themselves  under   the  plea  that 
they  had  acted  in  accordance  with  the  conscience  of  their 
State,  and  in  conformity  with  their  own  views  on  that  subject 
—views  which  they  had  entertained  from  first  to  last,  and  on 
which  they  had  never  been  questioned  or  qualified  by  any 
express  requirement  of  the  order.     Governor  Gardner,  who 
had  also  been  elected  by  the  American  party,  exhibited  his 
attachment  to  the  compromises  of  the  Constitution,  and  the 
laws  of  Congress,  by  refusing  to  give  his  assent  to  either  the 
Personal  Liberty  Bill,  or  the  removal  of  Judge  Loring,  and 
by  thus  interposing  the  Executive  authority  prevented  the 
consummation  of  the  latter,  and  saved  the  commonwealth 
from  the  stain  which  threatened  her  escutcheon. 

The  attitude  thus  assumed  by  the  legislature  of  Massa 
chusetts  necessarily  created  much  excitement  throughout  the 
order.  It  was  evident  that  an  organization  entertaining  views 
hostile  to  the  sovereignty  of  a  portion  of  the  States,  and  en 
tirely  sectional  in  its  nature,  could  not  consistently  form  a 


THE    SCHISM    IN    MASSACHUSETTS.  293 

component  of  a  party  whose  whole  predilections  were  national. 
She  was,  however,  permitted  to  appear  through  her  delegates 
in  the  National  Convention  of  the  order  held  at  Philadelphia, 
in  the  month  of  June,  1855.  At  that  convention,  finding  it 
impossible  to  engraft  any  portion  of  her  free-soil  doctrines 
upon  the  platform  there  adopted,  her  delegates  withdrew,  ac 
companied  with  those  of  two  or  three  other  of  the  free-soil 
States. 

But  the  sentiment  of  Massachusetts,  and  of  the  order  in 
that  commonwealth,  as  it  subsequently  appeared,  was  not 
represented  in  the  acts  of  her  delegates  in  the  convention,  or 
by  the  men  who  spoke  for  her  in  the  local  legislature.  The 
legislature,  as  I  have  shown,  was  not  sustained  by  the  Execu 
tive,  and  the  delegates  to  the  convention  at  Philadelphia 
were  subsequently  rebuked,  and  their  sentiments  repudiated 
by  the  order  and  the  people  of  their  own  State.  In  fact,  it 
would  seem,  that,  as  in  New  York,  the  free-soil  agitators 
had  surreptitiously  entered  the  order  for  the  purpose  of  ad 
vancing,  through  its  influence,  their  own  peculiar  views,  but 
their  action  in  the  legislature,  and  especially  in  the  conven 
tion  at  Philadelphia,  seems  to  have  opened  the  eyes  of  the 
honest,  conservative  men  of  the  State,  to  their  true  character 
and  objects. 

A  division  took  place,  and  in  the  summer  of  1855  two  State 
conventions  were  held  for  the  nomination  of  a  governor  and 
State  officers.  The  first,  purporting  to  be  American  and  free- 
soil  in  its  complexion,  refused  to  tender  a  re-nomination  to 
Governor  Gardner,  on  account  of  his  fidelity  to  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  his  hostility  to  the  sectional  movement  of  the  free- 


294  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

soil  party.  The  second  convention  was  called  by  that  por 
tion  of  the  American  Order  which  approved  of  the  national 
attitude  assumed  by  the  governor.  This  convention  re- 
nominated  Governor  Gardner,  and  a  full  set  of  candidates  for 
State  officers,  all  of  whom  were  opposed  to  that  sectional 
spirit  which  had  been  characterized  as  "  the  conscience  of  the 

State  of  Massachusetts." 

The  result  proved  that  the  conscience  of  Massachusetts, 
like  that  of  her  illustrious  son,  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  is  true  to  the 
Constitution  and  the  Union.  At  the  election  held  in  the 
month  of  November  following,  the  national  course  of  Gov- 
erner  Gardner  was  sustained,  and  the  real  American  candi 
dates  triumphantly  elected. 

After  the  Massachusetts  delegation  had  withdrawn  from 
the  convention  at  Philadelphia,  the  convention  adopted  the 
following  : 

PLATFORM'  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  ORGANIZATION. 

I. The  acknowledgment  of  that  Almighty  Being,  who  rules  over 

the  Universe, — who  presides  over  the  Councils  of  Nations, — who  con 
ducts  the  affairs  of  men.  and  who,  in  every  step  by  which  we  have  ad 
vanced  to  the  character  of  an  independent  nation,  has  distinguished 
us  by  some  token  of  Providential  agency. 

Xi. The  cultivation  and  development,  of  a  sentiment  of  profoundly 

intense  American  feeling  ;  of  passionate  attachment  to  our  country, 
its  history  and  its  institutions  ;  of  admiration  for  the  purer  days  of 
our  national  existence  ;  of  veneration,  for  the  heroism  that  precipi 
tated  our  Revolution  ;  and  of  emulation  of  the  virtue.,  wisdom,  and 
patriotism  that  framed  our  Constitution  and  first  successfully  applied 
its  provisions. 

HI.— The  maintenance  of  the  union  of  these  United  States  as  the 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  PLATFORM.          295 

paramount  political  good ;  or,  to  use  the  language  of  Washington, 
"  the  primary  object  of  patriotic  desire."  And  hence  : — 

1st.  Opposition  to  all  attempts  to  weaken  or  subvert  it. 

2d.  Uncompromising  antagonism  to  every  principle  of  policy  that 
endangers  it. 

3d.  The  advocacy  of  an  equitable  adjustment  of  all  political  differ 
ences  which  threaten  its  integrity  or  perpetuity. 

4th.  The  suppression  of  all  tendencies  to  political  division,  founded 
on  "  geographical  discrimination,  or  on  the  belief  that  there  is  a  real 
difference  of  interests  and  views  between  the  various  sections  of  the 
Union. 

5th.  The  full  recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  several  States,  as 
expressed  and  reserved  in  the  Constitution,  and  a  careful  avoidance 
by  the  general  government  of  all  interference  with  their  rights  by 
legislative  or  executive  action. 

IV.— Obedience  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  as  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land,  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all  its  parts  and 
members  ;  and  steadfast  resistance  to  the  spirit  of  innovation  upon 
its  principles,  however  specious  the  pretexts.  Avowing  that  in  all 
doubtful  or  disputed  points  it  may  only  be  legally  ascertained  and 
expounded  by  the  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States. 

And,  as  a  corollary  to  the  above  : — 

1.  A  habit  of  reverential  obedience  to  the  laws,  whether  National, 
State,  or  Municipal,  until  they  are  either  repealed  or  declared  uncon 
stitutional  by  the  proper  authority. 

2.  A   tender  and  sacred  regard  for  those  acts  of  statesmanship, 
which  are  to  be  contra-distinguished  from  acts  of  ordinary  legislation, 
by  the  fact  of  their  being  of  the  nature  of  compacts  and  agreements ; 
and  so,  to  be  considered  a  fixed  and  settled  national  policy. 

V. — A  radical  revision  and  modification  of  the  laws  regulating 
immigration,  and  the  settlement  of  immigrants.  Offering  to  the 
honest  immigration  who  from  love  of  liberty,  or  hatred  of  oppression, 
seek  an  asylum  in  the  United  States,  a  friendly  reception  and  pro 
tection.  But  unqualifiedly  condemning  the  transmission  to  our  shores 
of  felons  and  paupers. 


296  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

VI. — The  essential  modification  of  tbe  Naturalization  Laws. 

The  repeal  by  the  legislatures  of  the  respective  States,  of  all  State 
laws  allowing  foreigners  not  naturalized  to  vote. 

The  repeal  without  retroactive  operation,  of  all  acts  of  Congress 
making  grants  of  land  to  unnaturalized  foreigners,  and  allowing  them 
to  vote  in  the  territories. 

VII. — Hostility  to  the  corrupt  means  by  which  the  leaders  of 
party  have  hitherto  forced  upon  us  our  rulers  and  our  political 
creeds. 

Implacable  enmity  against  the  prevalent  demoralizing  system  of 
rewards  for  political  subservieacy,  and  of  punishments  for  political 
independence. 

Disgust  for  the  wild  hunt  after  office  which  characterizes  the  age. 

These  on  the  one  hand.     On  the  other  : — 

Imitation  of  the  practice  of  the  purer  days  of  the  republic  ;  and 
admiration  of  the  maxim  that  <%  office  should  seek  the  man,  and  not 
man  the  office,"  and  of  the  rule  that,  the  just  mode  of  ascertaining 
fitness  for  office  is  the  capability,  the  faithfulness,  and  the  honesty 
of  the  incumbent  or  candidate. 

VIII. — Resistance  to  the  aggressive  policy  and  corrupting  tenden 
cies  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  our  country,  by  the  advance 
ment  to  all  political  stations — executive,  legislative,  judicial  or  diplo 
matic — of  those  only  who  do  not  hold  civil  allegiance,  directly  or 
indirectly,  to  any  foreign  power  whether  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  and 
who  are  Americans  by  birth,  education  and  training : — thus  fulfilling 
the  maxim,  "AMERICANS  ONLY  SHALL  GOVERN  AMERICA." 

The  protection  of  all  citizens  in  the  legal  and  proper  exercise  of 
their  civil  and  religious  rights  and  privileges :  the  maintenance  of 
the  right  of  every  man  to  the  full,  unrestrained  and  peaceful  enjoy 
ment  of  his  own  religious  opinions  and  worship,  and  a  jealous  resist 
ance  of  all  attempts  by  any  sect,  denomination  or  church  to  obtain 
an  ascendency  over  any  other  in  the  State,  by  means  of  any  special 
privileges  or  exemption,  by  any  political  combination  of  its  members, 
or  by  a  division  of  their  civil  allegiance  with  any  foreign  power, 
potentate  or  ecclesiastic. 


THE    PHILADELPHIA    PLATFORM.  £97 

Et-The  reformation  of  the  character  of  our  National  Legislature 
by  elevating  to  that  dignified  aud  responsible  position  men  of  higher 
qualifications,  purer  morals,  and  more  unselfish  patriotism. 

X.-The  restriction  of  executive  patronage-especially  in  the  mat- 
ter  of  appointments  to  office-so  far  as  it  may  be  permitted  by  the 
Constitution,  and  consistent  with  the  public  good. 

XL— The  education  of  the  youth  of  our  country  in  schools  pro 
vided  by  the  State  ;  which  schools  shall  be  common  to  all,  without 
distinction  of  creed  or  party,  and  free  from  any  influence  or  direction 
of  a  denominational  or  partisan  character. 

And,  inasmuch  as  Christianity  by  the  constitutions  of  nearly  all 
the  States  ;  by  the  decisions  of  the  most  eminent  judicial  authorities  ; 
and  by  the  consent  of  the  people  of  America,  is  considered  an  element 
of  our  political  system  ;  and  as  the  Holy  Bible  is  at  once  the  source 
of  Christianity,  and  the  depository  and  fountain  of  all  civil  and  reli 
gious  freedom,  we  oppose  every  attempt  to  exclude  it  from  the  schools 
thus  established  in  the  States. 

XII.— The  American  party  having  arisen  upon  the  ruins  and  in 
spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  whig  and  democratic  parties,  cannot  be 
held  in  any  manner  responsible  for  the  obnoxious  acts  or  violated 
pledges  of  either.  And  the  systematic  agitation  of  the  Slavery  ques 
tion  by  those  parties  having  elevated  sectional  hostility  into  a  posi 
tive  element  of  political  power,  and  brought  our  institutions  into 
peril,  it  has  therefore  become  the  imperative  duty  of  the  American 
party  to  interpose,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  peace  to  the  country  and 
perpetuity  to  the  Union.  And  as  experience  has  shown  it  impossible 
to  reconcile  opinions  so  extreme  as  those  which  separate  the  dis 
putants,  and  as  there  can  be  no  dishonor  in  submitting  to  the  laws, 
the  National  Council  has  deemed  it  the  best  guarantee  of  common 
justice  and  of  future  peace,  to  abide  by  and  maintain  the  existing 
laws  upon  the  subject  of  slavery,  as  a  final  and  conclusive  settlement 
of  that  subject,  in  spirit  and  in  substance. 

And  regarding  it  the  highest  duty  to  avow  their  opinions  upon  a 

subject  so  important,  in  distinct  and  unequivocal  terms,  it  is  hereby 

13*  ' 


298  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

declared  as  the  sense  of  this  National  Council,  that  Congress  possesses 
no  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  legislate  upon  the  subject  of 
slavery  in  the  States  where  it  does  of  may  exist,  or  to  exclude  any 
State  from  admission  into  the  Union,  because  its  constitution  does  or 
does  not  recognize  the  institution  of  slavery  as  a  part  of  its  social 
system  ;  and  expressly  pretermitting  any  expression  of  opinion  upon 
the  power  of  Congress  to  establish  or  prohibit  slavery  in  any  terri 
tory,  it  is  the  sense  of  the  National  Council  that  Congress  ought  not 
to  legislate  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  within  the  territories  of  the 
United  States  and  that  any  interference  by  Congress  with  slavery  as 
it  exists  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  would  be  a  violation  of  the 
spirit  and  intention  of  the  compact  by  which  the  State  of  Maryland 
ceded  the  District  to  the  United  States,  and  a  breach  of  the  National 
faith. 

XIII. The  policy  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  its 

relations  with  foreign  governments,  is  to  exact  justice  from  the 
strongest,  and  do  justice  to  the  weakest ;  restraining,  by  all  the  power 
of  the  government,  all  its  citizens  from  interference  with  the  internal 
concerns  of  nations  with  whom  we  are  at  peace. 

XIV. This  National  Council  declares  that  all  the  principles  of  the 

order  shall  be  henceforward  everywhere  openly  avowed  ;  and  that 
each  member  shall  be  at  liberty  to  make  known  the  existence  of  the 
order,  and  the  act  that  he  himself  is  a  member  5  and  it  recommends 
that  there  be  no  concealment  of  the  places  of  meeting  of  subordinate 
councils. 

The  order,  in  its  primitive  character  and  purpose,  ignored 
entirely  the  sectional  issue  of  free-soil  and  slavery.  It  took 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  as  it  found  it,  and  it  also 
took  for  granted  that  whatever  domestic  institution  any  State 
might  choose  to  adopt,  not  inconsistent  with  Republicanism 
and  Christianity,  was  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  to  that 
State,  without  question  or  cavil,  and  hence  beyond  the  reach  of 


INNOVATIONS    DEPRECATED.  299 

argument  or  discussion.     To  reiterate  that  guarantee  is,  there 
fore,  to  admit  indirectly  that  the  subject  is  open  to  discussion. 
The  intention  of  this  organization  was  the  formation  of  a 
great  national  party,  having  as  its  cardinal  object  the  main 
tenance  of  the  institutions  of  American  Republicanism.     This 
is  what  I  call  the  "  American  Policy."     In  forwarding  this 
object  it  came  necessarily  in  contact  with  every  influence  di 
rectly  or  indirectly  hostile  to  those  institutions ;  as,  for  ex 
ample,  the  political  and  despotic  power  of  the  Romish  hier 
archy  which  was  rapidly  overshadowing  the  power  of  the 
American   government ;  next,  the  -ostentatious   demands  of 
foreigners  who  claimed  the  right  to  hold  the  public  offices, 
and  thus  give  direction  to  the  government  itself  by  moulding 
its  several  departments  to  their  own  imported  notions  ;  next, 
the  American  demagogues  who  encouraged  these  influences 
and  yielded  to  their  demands ;  and  finally,  it  came  in  contact 
with  those  political  matricides  who,  by  engendering  a  sec 
tional  hostility,  would  have  torn  their  own  mother  country 
limb  from  limb,  and  murdered  her  by  dismemberment. 

Here  we  have,  in  few  words,  the  intrinsic  purpose  of  the 
society,  and  the  immediate  objects  of  its  political  hostility. 
In  this  character  alone  it  was  sent  forth  upon  its  ennobling 

mission  as  an  auxiliary  of  the  Order  of  United  Americans 

a  national,  conservative,  patriotic  propaganda,  and  the  intro 
duction  of  an  extraneous  subject  in  its  national  and  local 
councils  must  be  an  innovation,  apart  from  the  original  pur 
pose,  and  calculated  to  destroy  its  efficiency  and  power. 

The  history  of  this  order  presents,  also,  another  emasculat 
ing  ingredient,  which  now  forms  a  component  of  its  numerical 


300  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

strength.  That  very  success  which  appalled  and  stupefied  the 
corruptionist  of  the  parties,  operated  as  an  allurement  to 
many  of  their  office-seeking  adherents.  Connected  with  all 
parties  there  are  men  who  adapt  their  political  views— a& 
Napoleon  is  said  to  have  adapted  his  religious  sentiments— 
to  the  people  among  whom  they  are  thrown,  and  as  their  aim 
is  to  be  ever  with  the  strongest,  they  can  throw  oft'  and  put 
on  their  principles  with  wonderful  facility,  and  without  the 
slightest  drawbacks  of  conscience.  They  want  office,  and,  to 
use  a  vulgar  but  trite  expression,  they  "  go  in  to  win."  As 
rats  flee  from  a  sinking  ship,  such  men  will  hasten  from  a 
decaying  party.  Whatever  their  object  may  be,  it  is  always 
against  their  principles  to  be  found  long  on  the  weak  side. 
The  successes  of  the  American  Order  and  its  rapid  advances 
towards  a  complete  preponderance  in  the  nation,  were  so 
many  signals  of  migration  to  these  parasites,  and  in  obedi 
ence  to  those  signals  they  came  in  numbers  and  enlisted  under 
the  banners  of  the  victorious  army. 

Carrying  with  them  a  mercurial  zeal,  the  offspring  of  mer 
cenary  interest,  these  men  are  invariably  among  the  most 
active  and  bustling  of  partisans.  They  are  voluble,  earnest, 
and,  at  times,  seemingly  ubiquitous,  for  they  are  seen  every 
where,  and  heard  of  everywhere.  By  perseverance  and  seeming 
loyalty  to  the  principles  of  the  party,  they  secure  confidence, 
are  entrusted  with  responsible  duties,  and  when  nominations 
for  public  offices  are  to  be  made,  either  themselves  or  their 
friends  are  chosen  as  delegates  to  the  conventions.  Then 
come  their  claims  for  nominations,  and  it  too  often  occurs  that 
they  are  successful.  They  are  nominated  as  the  candidates 


POLITICAL    PARASITES.  301 

of  the  party,  and  the  party  is  called  upon  to  support  them. 
The  Jeffersonian  test  has  not  been  applied  in  their  cases,  and 
as  they  do  not -always  occupy  the  highest  places  in  public 
esteem,  the  judicious  and  the  honest  are  frequently  made  to 
grieve  over  the  discredit  thus  thrown  upon  their  cause.  These 
are  the  men  who  bring  corruption  into  public  life,  and  fling 
the  stain  of  disgrace  upon  the  parties  who  elect  them. 

Whatever  the  principles  of  a  political  party  may  be,  its 
strongest  bulwark  will  be  found  in  a  sterling  integrity.  This 
is  especially  the  case  in  a  popular  republic,  and  the  best  evi 
dence  of  an  honest  purpose  that  it  can  give  to  the  people,  is 
the  unimpeachable  character  of  its  candidates  for  public 
offices. 

These  unprincipled  parasites,  as  I  said,  hurried  into  the 
American  organization,  and  they  instinctively  clamored  for 
office.     They  base  their  claims  upon  the  zeal  they  have  exhi 
bited,  and  the  labors  they  have  performed  since  their  connec 
tion  with  the  party,  claiming  precedence  over  men  whose 
calmer  judgment  has  been,  from  first  to  last,  the  stay  and  sup 
port  of  the  organization  and  its  principles.     In  some  cases 
they  have  been  successful,  and  after  their  election  they  have 
invariably  cast  discredit  on  the  party,  or  at  least  left  their 
constituents  to  regret  the  misplacement  of  their  confidence. 
Others,  again,  who  have  failed  to  secure  the  nominations  they 
sought,  have  returned  to  the  parties  they  had  deserted,  and 
stood  forth  the  bitterest  antagonists  of  the  American  party 
and  its  candidates.     A  distinguished  case  of  this  kind  is  exhi 
bited  in  the  municipal  government  of  the  city  of  New  York. 
The  elevation  of  bad  men  to  office,  apart  from  the  evils 


302        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

which  it  imposes  upon  the  community,  is  an  act  the  most  im 
politic,  because  it  is  certain  to  alienate  the  confidence  of  the 
public  from  the  party  that  commits  it.  A  dishonest  or  in 
competent  public  officer  is,  indeed,  an  object  of  public  con 
tempt,  but  the  party  which  recommended  him  for  popular 
confidence  must  suffer  the  odium  of  popular  indignation  which 
his  misconduct  has  aroused.  It  is  held  in  the  light  of  a  par- 
ticeps  criminis,  "  an  accessory  before  the  fact,"  and  is,  there 
fore,  deemed  accountable  before  the  bar  of  public  sentiment, 
for  all  the  evils  resulting  to  the  community  from  his  misdeeds. 
Thus  the  party  suffers  through  the  acts  of  its  agents.  Let 
this  maxim  be  written  on  the  banner  of  the  American  organi 
zation,  viz.  :  That  it  is  better  to  defeat  a  bad  candidate  than 
to  elect  him.  Its  good  effects  will  be  two-fold.  It  will  make 
nominating  conventions  prudent,  and  secure  the  confidence 
of  the  people. 

The  class  of  politicians  to  whom  I  have  alluded,  form  a 
natural,  if  not  a  necessary  appendage  to  a  successful  party. 
They  rush  to  it  as  flies  swarm  about  a  sugar-cask— for  what 
they  can  get— and  since,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  they 
cannot  be  avoided,  it  is  proper  that,  like  all  "  necessary  nuis 
ances,"  they  should  be  regulated. 

^  The  motive  which  actuated  the  two  great  American  organi 
zations  in  adopting  the  policy  of  secrecy  in  the  details  of  their 
affairs,  I  have  stated  in  a  previous  chapter.  The  machinery  of 
the  old  parties  was  so  complete  and  pervading,  and  the  poli 
tical  influences  of  Romanism  were  so  subtle,  that  every  open 
effort  to  destroy  their  corrupting  influences  had  been  cut 
down  or  strangled  in  its  very  inception,  and  the  popular 


THE  REASONS  FOR  SECRECY. 


sentiment—I  mean  that  innate  sentiment  which  lay  deep  in 
the  popular  heart,  overlaid,  it  is  true,  by  partisan  affiliations 
yet  still  there—  was  suppressed,  and  its  first  instinctive  efforts 
at  emancipation  were  stifled  and  silenced  by  those  oversha 
dowing  elements.  To  use  a  very  common  political  expression, 
the  public  heart  was  in  party  "  traces,"  and  it  dared  not  kick 
against  them  in  the  face  of  its  drivers. 

The  power  of  their  political  and  Romish  engines  is  also 
witnessed  in  its  effects  upon  every  public  journal  that  has 
ventured  to  advocate  the  American  policy.     The  question  has 
often  been  asked,  "Why  cannot  an  American  paper  be  sus 
tained  ?"     The  answer  is  plain.     Every  attempt  to  establish 
one,  until  recently,  has  been  made  odious  through  the  Romish 
and  partisan  presses  of  the  country.     The  most  earnest  and 
disinterested  appeals  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people,  though 
never  combated,   have  been  ridiculed,  and  thf  authors  of 
them  stigmatized  with  opprobrium.     Thousands  who  in  their 
hearts  were  conscious  of  the  correctness  of  the  theory,  and 
who  secretly  coincided  with  the  sentiments  of  the  American 
policy,  were  deterred  from  giving  their  patronage  to  those 
journals,  lest  they  should  share  in  the  general  obloquy,  or 
suffer  in  their  business  or  private  relations.     Few,  therefore, 
ventured  to  place  upon  their  counter,  or  to  exhibit  at  their 
houses,  any  publication  that  savored  of  Native  Americanism, 
and  an  advertisement  in  them  was  regarded  as  a  dangerous 
experiment.     As  a  natural  consequence,  those   publications 
were,  one  by  one,  discontinued  from  want  of  patronage,  the 
publishers  consoling  themselves  under  their  pecuniary  losses, 
with  the  consciousness  of  having  performed  a  patriotic  duty. 


304       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

In  the  year  1851,  I  undertook  the  publication  of  a 
monthly  literary  journal,  devoted  to  the  American  policy.  It 
was  entitled  "THE  REPUBLIC."  In  that  journal  was  main 
tained  a  temperate  tone  and  a  conservative  policy.  The 
religion  of  the  Romanist  was  never  assailed,  nor  the  rights  of 
the  adopted  citizen  invaded.  Notwithstanding  this,  but  a  few 
numbers  had  been  issued,  when  I  received  an  anonymous 
note,  which  ran  as  follows : 

uSlR:_Your  publication  will  struggle  through  an  existence  of 
about  two  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  your  cash-account  will 
exhibit  a  balance  of  time  and  money  lost. 

«  Signed,  A  ROMAN  CATHOLIC." 

There  was  a  coolness  and  deliberate  preciseness  about  this 
note  which  bore  evident  marks  of  the  existence  of  an  under 
current  of  hostility-a  secret  enemy.  It  appeared  that  there 
had  been  a  «areful  calculation  made  of  every  element  oa 
which  the  publication  depended  for  success.  Its  resources 
had  seemingly  been  measured  to  a  farthing,  and  critically 
weighed  against  the  elements  that  were  to  be  brought  to  bear 
against  it,  and  the  result  of  the  estimate  was  frankly,  but 
tauntingly  and  secretly  conveyed  in  the  note. 

The  prophecy  of  the  author  was  technically  fulfilled.  At 
the  end  of  two  years  the  publication  terminated  for  want  of 
patronage,  yet,  although  pecuniarily  a  sufferer,  and  minus  the 
time  devoted  to  the  journal,  I  never  regarded  either  the  one 
or  the  other  as  "lost."  The  "Republic"  while  it  exist 
performed  a  patriotic  mission,  and  created  a  wholesome 
national  sentiment  wherever  it  was  read.  In  this  I  found  a 
reward  for  my  labors  and  sacrifices. 


FULFILLMENT    OF    THE    MISSION.  395 

Under  circumstances  like  these,  while  the  minds  of  men 
were  held  in  the  vassalage  of  a  mysterious  fear,  and  with  the 
subterranean  influence  of  the  papacy  meeting  them  in  a  mask 
at  every  turn,  any  attempt  to  develop  the  public  sentiment 
in  relation  to  the  American  policy  must  have  terminated  in 
defeat.  It  became  necessary  to  meet  those  influences  in 
their  own  armor  and  on  their  own  ground,  and  the  successful 
result  of  such  a  plan  is  seen  in  the  majestic,  and  almost 
miraculous  growth  of  the  American  party. 

When  the  necessity  for  secrecy  is  found  to  exist  no  longer, 
the  secret  policy  of  Ae  organization  will  be  abandoned.  When 
the  sentiment  of  the  country  is  fully  awakened  to  the  neces 
sity  of  the  adoption  of  those  measures   of  self-preservation 
which  have  been  set  forth-when  it  is  no  longer  regarded 
as  dishonorable  to  prefer,  in  a  political  view,  our  own  country 
and  our  own  people  over  every  other  country  and  every  other 
people— when  the  natural-born  citizens  of  the  country  shall 
freely  express  their  patriotic  sentiments,  unawed   by  foreign 
or  partisan  influences,  and  the  Protestant  speak  out  everywhere, 
fearless  of  papal  persecution— then  may  the  close  councils  of 
the  order  be  abandoned,  and  their  proceedings  be,   as  their 
principles  ever  have   been,   placed   unreservedly  before   the 
world. 

The  mission  of  the  secret  organization  will  then  be  fulfilled, 
and  it  will  remain  for  the  American  people  to  demand  of 
their  government  the  enactment  of  such  measures  as  will, 
in  all  the  future,  guard  our  dear-bought  and  cherished 
institutions  of  freedom  against  all  foreign  influences,  whether 
civil  or  ecclesiastical. 


306       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

THK  UNITED  AMERICAN  MECHANICS— EFFECTS  OF  THE  COMPETITION  OF  IMMIGRANT 
LABOR  ON  THE  INDUSTRIAL  INTERESTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES— THE  ROMEDY— 
THE  UNITED  SONS  OF  AMERICA. 

•   ^ 

THE  Mechanics  of  America  have  heretofore  occupied  a  posi 
tion  in  society  which  has  not  been  attained  by  their  class  in 
any  other  nation.  In  European  countries,  the  word  mechanic 
designates  not  only  a  class  but  a  caste  in  society ;  and  that 
too,  of  a  low  grade.  The  dignity  of  labor  is  not  recognized 
in  their  effete  social  systems.  But  here  it  has  been  otherwise. 
The  reasons  of  this  difference  are  obvious.  In  all  aristocratic 
systems,  the  sole  protection  of  the  aristocracy  lies  in  distinc 
tions  of  caste,  and  the  broader  those  distinctions  are  made, 
the  better  for  the  aristocrats,  and  the  worse  for  the  producing 
classes.  It  is  not  because  labor  is  disreputable  in  itself  that 
aristocracy  sneers  at  it,  but  because  of  this  feigned  distinction, 
which  is  essential  to  the  very  existence  of  a  privileged  class. 
The  effect  of  this  distinction  is  threefold — moral,  social, 
and  financial.  Its  moral  effect  is  to  degrade  the  working- 
man  in  his  own  estimation,  and  render  him  easily  subservient 
to  the  dominion,  the  whams,  or  the  caprice  of  those  who 
lord  it  over  him.  The  social  effect  is  to  deprive  him  of  his 
rights  d&  a  man ;  to  place  him  in  a  position  subordinate  to 


THE    AMERICAN    MECHANIC.  307 

• 

others,  and,  by  closing  the  doors  of  promotion  against  him, 
dampen  his  ambition,  and  confine  his  efforts  to  the  bare  neces 
sities  of  the  present.  The  financial  effect  is  the  natural  result 
of  his  moral  and  social  condition.  Owing  to  that  condition 
of  hopeless  passiveness,  the  spirit  of  noble  emulation  is  stifled 
in  his  bosom,  and  he  entertains  no  aspirations  for  a  loftier 
position  in  life.  His  necessities  alone  are  present  to  his  view, 
and  to  supply  them  is  the  burden  of  his  ambition  and  his 
energies.  He  is  willing  to  work  for  them  alone,  and  the  com 
petition  of  poverty,  brought  about  by  these  influences,  com 
pels  him  to  be  content  with  a  mere  pittance. 

In  the  United  States  the  only  castes  .intrinsically  recognized 
are  founded  upon  merit.  This  is  the  natural  and  imperative 
result  of  our  system  of  government  in  its  unadulterated  form. 
The  American  mechanic  is  morally,  socially,  and  politically 
on  a  par  with  his  fellow-citizens  of  every  calling,  whether 
rich  or  poor,  and  his  right  to  the  highest  executive  office  of 
the  nation  is  as  complete,  perfect,  and  undisputed  as  that  of 
any  other  living  man. 

This  being  his  attitude  in  society,  his  self-respect  is  stimu 
lated,  and  his  ambition  awakened.  He  has  an  inducement  to 
emulate  the  best  in  the  land,  and  he  strives  by  mental  culture 
to  qualify  himself  for  the  highest  intellectual  pursuits  and 
enjoyments.  How  many  of  our  American  mechanics  have 
been  elevated  to  positions  of  lofty  honor  and  responsibility ! 
How  many  have  given  lustre  to  the  name  of  America ! 

The  question  before  us  at  the  present  moment  is  this :  Can 
the  American  mechanic  retain  his  rights  and  high  social  posi 
tion  against  the  competition  of  immigrant  labor  ?  "  Coming 


308       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY.  > 

• 

events  cast  their  shadows  before."  The  view  that  I  have  given 
of  this  class  is  a  view  of  the  primitive,  natural  position  of  the 
mechanic,  under  the  unadulterated  workings  of  our  system  of 
government.  It  is  a  view  of  his  position  where  all  things  and 
all  men  are  in  that  state  of  social  as  well  as  moral  and  political 
equilibrium  which  is  contemplated  by  our  institutions.  If  that 
equilibrium  is  destroyed  by  any  unnatural  or  uncontemplated 
antagonism  between  capital  and  labor — if  the  interests  of  capi 
tal  become  from  any  cause  opposed  to  the  interests  of  labor,  it 
follows  that  the  rewards  of  labor  must  be  reduced,  and  although 
the  intrinsic  rights  of  the  mechanic  remain,  his  means  of  acquir 
ing  and  assuming  those  rights  are  proportionately  lessened. 

Before  the  unequal  competition  of  immigrant  labor  cast 
its  shadow  over  the  industrial  interests  of  our  country,  every 
American  journeyman  mechanic  was  enabled,  by  the  force  of 
his  industry,  to  maintain  a  financial  position  equal  to  that  of 
his  social,  moral,  and  political  position.  He  was  sure  of 
employment,  at  wages  adapted  to  the  dignity  of  his  franchise  ; 
to  the  necessities  of  the  present,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
future.  He  could  dwell  in  his  own  cottage,  supply  his  family 
with  comforts  and  luxuries,  rear  his  children  respectably,  find 
time  for  his  own  mental  improvement,  and  lay  by  a  little  of 
his  earnings  each  week  for  a  rainy  day.  Neatness  and  clean 
liness  pervaded  his  home,  and  the  cheerful  hearth  was  to  him 
the  ever-welcome  refuge  from  toil.  But  with  a  superabun 
dant  immigration  from  Europe  came  a  train  of  evils  which  are 
now  rapidly  developing  themselves.  Many  an  American  me 
chanic  still  lives  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  his  just  privileges, 
but  how  great  the  proportion  of  those  who,  from  want  of  em- 


THE    IMMIGRANT    MECHANIC.  309 

ployment,  or  reduced  compensation,  or  both,  have  been  alien 
ated  from  their  homes,  their  comforts,  their  ambition  !  How 
vast  the  number_  of  those  who  have  been  driven  from  their 
employments  to  make  room  for  the  under-bidding  competition 
of  the  foreign  laborer  !  The  American  mechanic  cannot  live 
upon  the  pittance  demanded  by  his  European  competitor.  It 
is  not  his  custom— it  was  not  the  custom  of  his  fathers— it  is 
degrading  to  his  sense  of  self-respect. 

I  will  relate  two  instances  of  the  manner  in  which  this.dis- 
paraging  competition  is  carried  on. 

A  German  cabinetmaker,  who  received  work  from  store 
keepers,  occupied  a  spacious  loft  in  Ami  street,  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  In  that  loft  was  his  workshop  and  his  dwelling. 
He  employed  three  apprentices,  all  Germans,  and  with  them 
was  constantly  occupied  in  manufacturing  furniture.  This 
man,  under  a  plea  of  destitution,  obtained  all  his  winter  fuel, 
with  other  necessaries,  from  the  Aims-House  department  of  the 
city  ! 

The  other  case  is  that  of  a  tailor,  also  a  German,  who  ob 
tained  a  constant  supply  of  work  from  clothiers.  He  employed 
from  eight  to  ten  hands,  all  of  whom  boarded  with  him.  This 
man  kept  his  two  children  constantly  employed  in  begging  for 
broken  victuals  from  door  to  door,  by  which  means  his  table 
was  supplied  with  provisions  ! 

Here  are  the  elements  of  competition  which  the  American 
mechanic  is  called  upon,  by  excessive  immigration,  to  with- 
stand— Imposture  and  pauperism  !  The  elements  are  too  un 
equal.  The  odds  are  against  him.  He  cannot  contend  with 
them.  His  moral  sensibilities— his  sense  of  self-respect  forbid 


310  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

it.  The  alternative  presented  is  poverty  or  disgrace.  He 
chooses  the  former,  and  quits  his  shop,  in  hopes  that  some 
thing  will  "  turn  up  "  to  his  advantage.  He  seeks  in  vain  for 
employment  at  remunerating  prices.  It  is  not  to  be  had.  He 
must  work  at  the  prices  of  the  foreign  pauper,  or  remain  idle. 
He  turns  to  the  country,  but  even  there  the  same  spectacle  is 
presented.  Foreigners  are  working  the  farms.  The  teeming 
earth,  which  has  till  now  sent  forth  its  abundance  from  be 
neath  the  hand  of  the  hardy  American  farmer,  struggles  on 
in  a  succession  of  short  crops,  under  the  cheap  system  "of  Eu 
ropean  tillage. 

In  his  pressing  necessities,  the  discharged  workman  be 
thinks  him  of  the  public  service.  He  determines,  as  a  last 
resort,  to  obtain 'some  subordinate  public  office,  from  the 
emoluments  of  which  he  may  support  his  family  with  respect 
ability.  He  has  done  good  service  to  his  party  in  times  past, 
and  he  is  sure  it  will  not  deny  him  an  appointment.  For  the 
first  time  in  his  life  he  looks  into  the  public  departments,  and 
applies  for  a  situation.  He  finds  every  post  occupied— occtt- 
pied  by  foreigners  !  There  is  nothing  left  to  him  but  submia, 
sion  or  beggary.  In  the  workshop,  on  the  farm,  and  in  the 
public  offices,  the  aspect  is  the  same.  In  every  department 
he  encounters  the  drudging  and  importunate  foreigner. 

To  turn  from  the  home  of  childhood  and  the  associations 
of  early  life,  and  seek  subsistence  on  the  broad  prairies  of  the 
far  West— to  build  his  house  in  the  wilderness,  and  endure  the 
hardships  of  a  pioneer  life,  becomes  his  final  recourse.  But 
even  there  he  finds  the  same  competition.  The  foreign  squat 
ter  has  staked  out  the  best  portions  of  the  public  domain. 


EFFECTS    OF    FOREIGN    COMPETITION.  3]g 

Thus  the  personal  interests  of  the  American  mechanic  are 
submerged,  his  rights  neutralized,  and  his  hopes  thwarted  by 
excessive  immigration  of  the  poor  of  Europe.     These  are  the 
direct  effects.    Indirectly,  the  effects  assume  a  different  phase. 
The  introduction  of  this  degraded  element  into  the  industrial 
arena  of  the  country,  is  in  itself  calculated  to  promote  caste, 
and  stimulate  a  puerile  aristocratic  taste  among  the  rich.     In 
such  hands,  labor  puts  on  a  repulsive  aspect— it  is  shorn  of  all 
dignity.     With  them,  the  instincts  of  refinement,  heretofore 
shared  by  the  working-men  of  America,  in  common  with  all 
their  fellow-citizens,  are  unknown.     They  present  the  positive 
distinction  between  intellectual  labor  and  mere  drudgery,  and 
thus  they  themselves  draw  the  distinguishing  line  which  forms 
the  basis  of  caste,  and  encourages  an  aristocratic,  anti-repub 
lican  sentiment. 

Again,  the  effect  of  excessive  cheap  labor  is  to  aggrandize 
capital.  And  this  affords  another  incentive  to  aristocracy— 
an  aristocracy  of  wealth,  which  is  the  worst  of  all  aristocra 
cies.  We  may  find  some  excuse,  perhaps,  for  the  peculiari 
ties  of  one  educated  to  pride  of  noble  lineage,  or  personal  in 
tellectuality,  when  he  claims  superiority  of  caste ;  but  the 
mere  purse-proud  claimant  of  distinction  is  but  an  object  of 
disgust.  Men  who  have  made  honest  fortunes  by  cutting  up 
their  fathers'  cabbage-gardens  into  city  lots,  should  wear  their 
honors  wisely,  if  they  know  how,  but  at  all  events  they  should 
wear  them  meekly,  and  when  dealing  with  a  producer,  remem 
ber  that  they,  as  well  as  their  fathers,  once  belonged  to  that 
honorable  class. 

But  this  rational  thesis,  which  is  intrinsically  susceptible  of 


3fc2  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

the  most  logical  support,  is  met,  and  forcibly  met,  on  mere 
circumstantial  grounds.  The  answer  given  is,  that  "  the  pro 
ducer  of  to-day  is  not,  in  any  essential,  the  producer  of  our 
day,  or  the  days  of  our  fathers."  "  The  class  of  laborers," 
they  say,  "  is  degenerated,  and  with  them,  labor  itself."  Such 
is  the  argument  afforded  by  immigration  in  favor  of  an  Ame 
rican  aristocracy  ! 

The  respectable  mechanics  of  our  country  have  seen  and 
felt  these  influences  sorely.  They  have  witnessed  the  gradua1 
and  ruinous  absorption  of  their  interests,  their  social  position, 
and  their  political  rights,  through  the  channel  of  European 
pauper  competition.  The  labor  of  years  devoted  to  the  ac 
quirement  of  an  honorable  trade  has  been  thrown  away,  be 
cause  they  could  not  compete  with  beggars  and  impostors. 
They  have  appealed  in  vain  to  their  countrymen,  to  their 
employers,  and  their  legislatures  for  relief,  and,  as  a  last  resort 
— as  the  only  means  of  self  preservation  left  to  them,  they  have, 
like  their  fathers  of  old,  resolved  to  take  the  matter  into  their 
own  hands,  and  by  a  combination  of  action  and  interest  main 
tain  the  rights  and  the  dignity  of  their  class.  From  these 
causes  sprung  the  Order  of 

UNITED  AMERICAN   MECHANICS. 

The  incipient  meeting  of  this  organization  was  held  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  on  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  July, 
1 845.  At  that  meeting  several  trades  were  represented.  The 
object  of  the  meeting  was  stated  by  the  President,  to  be  the 
formation  of  a  secret  society  for  the  protection  of  American 


UNITED    AMERICAN    MECHANICS.  313 

Mechanics,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  resolu 
tions  expressive  of  this  object. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting,  held  July  15th,  that  committee 
reported  the  following : 

"  That  we  form  a  society  to  be  called  'The  American  Me 
chanics'  Union,'  whose  object  shall  be, 

"  1st.  To  assist  each  other  in  obtaining  employment. 
"  2d.  To  assist  each  other  in  business,  by  patronizing  each 
other  in  preference  to  foreigners. 

"  3d.  To  assist  the  unfortunate  in  obtaining  employment 
suitable  to  their  afflictions. 

"  4th.  To  establish  a  cemetery  for  deceased  members  of 
the  society. 

"  5th.  To  establish  a  funeral  fund. 

"6th.  For  the  establishment  of  a  fund  for  the  relief  of 
widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  members." 

This  code,  with  the  exception  of  the  title,  was  adopted,  and 
at  the.  next  meeting,  held  on  the  22d  of  the  same  month,  it 
was  "  resolved,  that  the  title  of  the  society  be  '  The  United 
American  Mechanics  of  the  United  States.'  " 

On  this  basis  and  with  this  title  the  society  was  formed, 
and  an  appropriate  constitution  subsequently  adopted. 

Whatever  may  appear  to  be  partial  in  the  2d  clause  of  this 
code,  as  relates  to  foreigners,  is  justified,  first  by  the  exigency 
which  suggested  its  adoption,  and  especially  by  the  precedent 
which  had  already  been  set  by  foreigners  themselves.  Secret 
societies,  composed  entirely  of  foreigners,  and  having  for  their 
objects  the  patronage  and  support  of  their  own  countrymen 

14 


314  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

in  preference  to  Americans,  existed  at  that  time  in  almost 
every  city  of  large  population  in  the  United  States. 

Around  this  nucleus  gathered  a  vast  and  wide-spread  or 
ganization,  extending  its  counsels  in  all  directions,  and  exert 
ing  a  happy  influence  over  the  interests  of  the  mechanic  in 
nearly  every  State  in  the  Union. 

The  purpose  of  the  order  was  entirely  that  of  mutual  aid 
and  protection  in  the  business  callings  of  its  members,  and  of 
benevolence  towards  their  individual  necessities  and  misfor 
tunes,  yet  it  is  impossible  that  such  an  organization  could  long 
exist  without  discovering  the  necessity  of  a  more  radical  plan 
of  operations.  They  must  have  discovered  that  the  first  great 
cause  of  the  evils  which  called  the  order  into  existence  were 
to  be  found  in  a  system,  of  which  the  pauper  competition 
from  Europe  was  but  the  natural  fruit.  The  existing  laws 
of  naturalization,  by  which  the  meanest  serf  of  Europe  could 
be  converted  into  a  voter  in  five  years,  offered  great  induce 
ments  to  the  home  demagogue  to  encourage  or  at  least  to 
wink  at  that  class  of  immigration.  Were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  these  men  can  be  used  as  political  instruments  by  the 
wire-pullers  of  the  once  great  parties,  the  voice  of  the  whole 
country  would  long  since  have  been  raised  against  the  ad 
mission  of  that  class  of  immigrants,  and  the  two  parties,  instead 
of  encouraging  it  would  have  vied  with  each  other  in  the 
adoption  of  measures  to  prevent  their  admission. 

It  is  impossible  that  a  body  of  intelligent  American  me 
chanics  could  have  failed  to  discover  this  fact,  and  having 
discovered  it,  it  is  impossible  that  they  should  fail  to  assist  in 


UNITED    SONS    OF    AMERICA.  315 

applying  the  remedy.  When  the  naturalization  laws  are  so 
framed  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  using  the  alien  vote 
for  nefarious  purposes,  we  shall  find  little  difficulty  in  prevent 
ing  that  ruinous  competition  which  has  heretefore  grown  out 
of  the  cheap  labor  of  pauper  immigrants. 

The  interests  of  the  American  mechanic  lie  in  the  adop 
tion  of  measures  that  will  check  the  tide,  the  overwhelming 
tide  of  European  immigration,  or,  at  least,  of  that  class  of 
immigration  which,  while  it  imparts  nothing  to  the  genius  of 
the  country,  saps  the  fountains  of  honest  industry,  and  brings 
the  deserving  to  want.  The  ballot-box  is  his  legitimate  court 
of  appeal,  and  the  freeman's  suffrage  must  be  his  advocate. 

THE    UNITED    SONS    OF    AMERICA. 

This  order  originated  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  in  the 
year  1845.  It  was  one  of  the  spontaneous  results  of  the 
Kensington  massacre  of  which  I  have  spoken  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  and  has  been  the  mainspring  of  the  Native  American 
party  in  that  city  from  that  time  to  the  present. 

The  object  of  this  organization  has  been  to  sustain,  against 
all  obstacles,  the  principles  of  the  native  party  as  it  existed  in 
1 844,  and  its  members  have  for  years,  like  a  band  of  Spartans, 
held  the  pass,  and  courted  defeat  rather  than  yield  to  the 
foreign  legion  or  become  the  allies  of  corrupt  partisans. 
Their  organization,  although  not  numerous,  has  been  planted 
in  many  States,  and  wherever  the  American  party  has  made 
a  stand,  the  "  Sons  of  America  "  have  evinced  their  integrity 
and  patriotism  by  sustaining  it  with  energy  and  decision.  In 


316       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

Massachusetts  it  has  been  active  in  sustaining  and  concentra 
ting  the  national  sentiment  against  the  sectional  tendencies  of 
local  aspirants,  thereby  exhibiting,  as  on  .other  occasions,  its 
fidelity  to  the  Union,  and  its  unyielding  hostility  to  the  foes 
of  State  sovereignly. 


THE    ONE    IDEA. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE    "ONE   IDEA." 

THE  American  Party  has  been  at  all  times  opprobrious!/ 
stigmatized  bj  its  enemies,  as  "  a  party  with  one  idea"— only 
one  idea.     It  may,  perhaps,  be  difficult  to  determine  precisely 
how  many  ideas  are  necessary  to  constitute  the  legitimate 
basis  of  a  political  party  ;  or,  in  fact,  whether  any  idea  is 
absolutely  requisite  for  such  a  purpose.     That  a  political  party 
can  exist  without  a  single  fundamental  idea,  is  demonstrated 
in  the  lives  of  the  two  great  parties  of  this  country  during  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  advent 
of  a  new  party,  with  an  idea,  should  be  hailed  as  an  event  to 
be  applauded  rather  than  reviled.     We  can  account  for  the 
opposite  result  only  upon  the  hypothesis  that  in  politics,  ideas 
are  useless  incumbrances.     Certain  it  is,  the  prevailing  idea 
of  American  politicians,  for  several  years  past,  has  contem 
plated  only  what  is  facetiously  expressed  as  "  the  loaves  and 
fishes,"  or,  in  other  words,  the  honors  and  emoluments  of 
office. 

But,  in  discussing  this  matter,  we  must  treat  the  subject  as 
it  is  presented  to  us.  It  is  very  plain  that  the  opprobrious 
sneer  is  intended  to  imply  the  necessity  of  a  plurality  of  ideas 


318  A    DEFENCE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

in  the  formation  of  a  political  party,  or  that  a  single  idea  is 
not  alone  sufficient  for  that  purpose.     It  means  plainly,  that 
any  attempt  to  form  a  party  with  but  one  object  in  view,  is 
an  abs-urdity  deserving  nothing  better  than  the  contempt  and 
ridicule  of  the  world.     The  wise  men  who  set.  this  notion 
afloat,  if  they  have  ever  read  history  at  all,  have  read  it  to 
little  purpose ;  and  we  are  constrained  to  inquire,  if  one  idea 
is  not  sufficient,  how  many  are  required  ?     When  the  people 
of  the  old  thirteen  colonies  were  oppressed  by  the  crown  of 
England,  they  conceived  the  "  one  idea,"  that,  by  declaring 
and  maintaining  an  independent  government,  they  would  en 
sure  to  themselves  and  their  posterity  great  social  and  political 
advantages.     On  this  idea  a  great  party  was  formed,  and  im 
mediately  another  party  arose,  which  entertained  the  "  one 
idea"  of  loyalty  to  the  crown— two  great  parties,  each  with  a 
single  idea.     The  one  was  called  the  "  rebel  party,"  and  the 
other  the  "  tory  party,"  and  they  waged  unrelenting  warfare 
against  each  other,  until  at  last  the  rebel  party  was  successful, 
and  the  "  one  idea"  of  independence  was  maintained.     The 
triumph  of  that  idea  gave  to  the  people  of  the  United  States 
a  distinct  nationality.     Doubtless  many  a  wiseacre  of  the 
present  day  will  be  astonished  that  a  single  idea  could  accom 
plish  so  much. 

But  this  was  not  all.  The  idea  of  independence  having 
been  consummated,  another  idea  took  possession  of  the  people. 
That  singular  set  of  malcontents  were  no  sooner  in  possession 
of  their  independence,  than  they  conceived  the  idea  that  a 
Republic  would  be  more  conducive  to  popular  happiness  than 
their  old  form  of  government,  the  monarchy.  George  Wash- 


THE  ONE  IDEA  OF  INDEPENDENCE.          319 

ington  favored  this  idea.  He  could  have  worn  a  crown  ;  but 
being  an  American  he  was  extremely  jealous  of  foreign  influ 
ence,  foreign  customs,  and  the  forms  of  foreign  governments. 
He  stood  firm  to  the  "  one  idea"  of  a  republic,  and  that  was 
also  consummated.  Thus,  "one  idea"  gave  us  nationality, 
and  another  "  one  idea"  gave  us  freedom. 

Wherever   consistency  reigns  this  principle  is  universal. 
There  can  be  but  a  single  fundamental  idea  to  any  consistent 
purpose,  however  numerous  or  diversified  may  be  the  means 
employed,  or  the  measures  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purpose. 
These  are  but  the  agents  of  the  idea— the  cognate  aids  em 
ployed  for  the  completion  of  the  great  plan.     To  carry  out 
.  the  idea  of  Independence,  revolution  with  all  its  attendant 
consequences  became  a  necessary  measure ;  it  was  a  second 
thought,  which  came  naturally  and  necessarily  to  the  support 
of  the  first.     The  creation  of  the  earth  we  may  suppose  to 
have  been  a  single  idea  of  Omnipotence,  and  as  the  means  of 
carrying  out  and  consummating  that  idea,  the  elements  of 
chemistry,  gravitation,    attraction,    repulsion,    rotation,    &c., 
were  employed,  but  they  formed  no  part  or  component  of  the 
Divine  original  plan. 

I  know  of  but  one  political  organization  which  rests,  pri 
marily,  upon  a  plurality  of  ideas,  and  here  the  most  glaring 
inconsistency  is  observable.  The  hierarchy  of  the  Romish 
Church  is  founded  upon  two  distinct  purposes,  viz. :  temporal 
sovereignty  and  spiritual  sovereignty  in  one  and  the  same 
system  of  government.  But  even  this  is  denied.  The  Ro 
manist  claims  that  the  two  sovereignties  are  but  the  means 
employed  in  consummating  an  idea  more  remote ;  being  no 


320       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

less  than  the  establishment  of  an  universal  rule  of  faith.  This 
is  claimed  to  be  the  great  "  one  idea"  of  the  church,  and  I 
should  be  willing  to  believe  it  were  it  not  so  distinctly  con 
tradicted  in  the  every-day  practice  of  those  who  constitute 
the  hierarchy. 

Christopher  Columbus  conceived  the  idea  that  there  must 
be  a  western  continent  beyond  the  great  waters  of  the  Atlan 
tic,  and,  on  the  strength  of  that  one  idea,  he  set  forth  on  a 
voyage  of  discovery.  Now,  the  ship  in  which  he  sailed,  be 
ing  absolutely  necessary  to  the  proof  of  his  theory,  was  just 
as  much  a  part  of  the  original  idea  of  an  unknown  continent 
as  the  American  Revolution  was  a  part  of  the  original  idea 
of  Independence,  and  no  more. 

A  single  idea  has  hitherto  been  found  sufficient  as  a  basis 
for  any  single  purpose,  whether  that  purpose  has  been  the  cre 
ation  of  a  world,  the  discovery  of  a  continent,  or  the  freedom 
and  independence  of  a  great  nation,  and  he  who  sneers  at 
this  truth  subjects  himself  to  the  suspicion  that  his  own  ideas 
would  not  suffer  by  a  contact  with  Paley. 

The  American  party  did  set  forth  with  a  single  purpose — 
with  one  idea.  The  purpose  of  the  party  was  THE  PRESERVA 
TION  OF  OUR  NATIONAL  UNION,  AND  ITS  GLORIOUS  INSTITU 
TIONS  OF  CIVIL  AND  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY,  under  the  "  one 
idea,"  that,  in  order  to  accomplish  this  purpose,  AMERICANS 

OUGHT    TO    BE,    AND      MUST    BE,    THE      RULERS      IN      THEIR     OWN 

LAND.  The  idea  is  rational ;  the  purpose  is  noble  and  patri 
otic.  They  who  deny  the  broad  principle  herein  embodied, 
assume  a  position  at  once  untenable  and  unnatural.  They 
are  proscriptionists  of  the  worst  stamp.  They  would  proscribe 


AMERICAN    NATIONALITY   INSULTED.  321 

their  own  countrymen.  They  would  elevate  the  foreigner  at 
the  expense  of  the  native-born,  and  they  virtually  ignore  their 
own  nationality.  They  concede  to  the  alien,  as  a  right,  that 
which  Reason  and  the  Law  of  Nations  recognize  only  as  a 
privilege,  to  be  granted  or  withheld  at  the  option  of  the  gov 
ernment. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  repulsive  feature  contemplated  in 
this  denial  of  the  American  idea.     It  is  virtually  an  admission 
that  aliens,  reared  under  monarchical  institutions,  are  as  well 
qualified  to  enact  and  execute  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
American  republic  as  the  Americans    themselves.      This  is 
simply  an  insult  to  our  national  intelligence  and  character. 
It  is  an  insult  which,  if  applied  to  an  individual  in  the  ordi 
nary  affairs  of  life,  would  be  resented  on  the  instant.     If  we 
should  tell  a  watchmaker  to  his  face,  that  a  horse-shoer,  who 
had  never  seen  the  interior  of  a  watch,  was  as  well  qualified 
to  repair  that  delicate  instrument  as  the  watchmaker  himself, 
we  should  most  certainly  incur  the  risk  of  an  assault  and  bat 
tery.     Yet  we  do  not  commit  assault  and  battery  upon  the 
man  who  tells  us  that  the  most  illiterate  and  immoral  of 
the  surplusage  of  European  population  are  as  competent  to 
govern  us  as  we  are  to  govern  ourselves— we  only  deny  the 
proposition,  and  say  to  them,  you  are  not  competent  to  govern 
us,  and  therefore  you  shall  not  be  chosen  our  governors. 

This  is  the  voice  of  the  American  party.  It  should  be  the 
voice  of  the  American  people.  This  proposition  is  plain— this 
conclusion  is  logical.  No  honest  American,  with  a  clear  un 
derstanding  of  the  subject,  and  possessing  a  becoming  self- 
respect,  will  attempt  to  gainsay  or  combat  it.  The  policy  of 

14* 


322  A    DEFENCE    OF    TI1K    AMERICAN    POLICY. 

the  American  party,  in  this  aspect,  presents  an  appeal  not 
only  to  the  patriotism,  but  also  to  the  individuality  of  every 
American  man  and  woman  who  glories  in  the  achievements 
of  his  or  her  ancestors.  What  native  American  can  look 
back  through  the  glorious  vista  of  the  past,  and  contemplate 
the  success  of  our  arms  and  the  wisdom  of  our  statesmen, 
without  experiencing  a  glow  of  national  pride  ?  Who  can 
remember  a  Washington,  a  Warren,  an  Adams,  a  Jefferson, 
or  a  Franklin,  without  identifying  himself  with  them,  and 
claiming  fellowship  in  the  proud  and  dignified  character  of 
countryman  ?  Where  is  the  individual  who  can  survey  the 
vast  field  of  our  national  greatness,  and  contemplate  the  en 
nobling  and  happy  results  of  our  free  institutions,  without 
recognizing  with  pride  the  link  of  national  consanguinity 
which  binds  him  to  them,  bone  of  their  bone  and  flesh  of 
their  flesh  ? 

Recognizing  this  individuality — this  oneness,  this  unity  of 
man  and  country,  and  realizing  the  stupendous  benefits  which 
have  emanated  from  the  very  source  of  American  nationality, 
and  from  no  other,  who  is  there,  of  all  our  countrymen,  that 
can — without  impeachment  of  his  own  reason  and  intelligence 
— who  is  there  that  can  acknowledge  superiority  in  any  other 
race,  or  in  any  other  government  ?  Such  an  acknowledg 
ment  cannot  be  made.  This  is  asserted,  not  in  the  boastful 
•spirit  of  the  egotist,  but  as  a ,  simple,  logical,  common  sense 
conclusion,  deduced  from  the  tangible  and  irrefragible  proofs 
of  history.  The  race  of  the  founders  of  our  nation  was  that  of 
the  progressive  and  unconquerable  Anglo-Saxon — and  the 
government  which  they  created  is  admitted  by  the  peoples  of 


OUR    ONE    IDEA    SUFFICIENT.  323 

all  Christendom  to  have  been  better  adapted  to  the  social 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  man  than  any  other  at  any  time 
in  existence. 

"We  may  safely  conclude  that  the  "  one  idea,"  which  con 
stitutes  the  basis  of  the  American  policy,  is  both  sufficient  for 
its  purpose  and  sound  in  its  theory.  The  party  that  opposes 
it  is  essentially  anti-American.  There  is  an  adage  extant, 
which  says,  "  It  is  a  vile  bird  that  fouls  its  own  nest."  I 
think  this  adage  is  directly  applicable,  in  its  moral,  to  those 
American  politicians  who  decry  their  own  countrymen  and 
eulogize  the  foreigner.  Their  motive  is  transparent — and  the 
corruption  of  that  motive  is  distinctly  visible.  If  the  foreigner 
had  less  political  power,  those  eulogies  would  be  less  cheap  in 
the  market,  and  the  American  ONE  IDEA  more  popular. 


324       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


CONCLUSION. 


IN  drawino-  these  pages  to  a  close  it  is  not  impertinent  to 
say  that  ray  object  has  been  to  defend  a  principle  which  ap 
pears  to  me  to  be  vital  to  the  consummation  of  the  great 
experiment  of  American  republicanism.  One  important  fea 
ture  of  that  experiment  is  already  wrought  out  to  a  solution, 
viz. :  that,  as  affording  the  elements  of  social  happiness  and 
national  power,  the  American  system  stands  pre-eminent.  It 
has  also  demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  popular  government, 
beyond  question  or  dispute.  These  comprise  all  that  is  sought 
for  in  social  government,  and  the  only  question  remaining  is 
the  question  of  permanence— or  whether  such  a  system  can 
be  made  perpetual. 

Reasoning  a  priori,  we  might  assert  that  this  question  is 
also  settled.  But  unfortunately  we  are  not  permitted  in  this 
instance  to  guess  at  the  future  by  the  circumstances  of  the 
past.  The  fact  that  American  republicanism  has  existed 
three-quarters  of  a  century  does  not  convey  the  proof  that  it 
will  exist  three-quarters  of  a  century  longer.  It  is  only  a 
proof  that  it  would  exist  provided  the  same  circumstances 
which  have  favored  the  past  shall  continue  in  the  future. 


THE    FOUNDATION-STONES    OF    THE    REPUBLIC.  325 

But  how  different  are  the  circumstances  of  the  present 
from  those  under  which  our  Republic  has  been  reared  !  Those 
changes  of  circumstances  I  have  hastily  portrayed  in  the 
pages  of  this  work,  and  it  is  impossible  to  contemplate  them 
without  awakening  the  liveliest  apprehensions  in  every  patri 
otic  mind.  They  prove  that  we  have  wandered  from  the  path 
of  safety,  and  they  admonish  us  to  return.  They  prove  also 
that  a  course  of  policy  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  one 
era  is  not  always  appropriate  to  the  circumstances  of  a 
succeeding  era,  and  they  suggest  such  alterations  as  shall 
make  them  conformable  to  the  new  state  of  things. 

o 

Religion,  patriotism,  and  morality,  have  been  the  founda 
tion-stones  of  our  success  as  a  nation,  and  our  happiness  and 
prosperity  as  a  people.  These  foundation-stones  were  laid 
upon  the  rock  of  a  stern  Protestant  faith,  and  their  fruits  have 
been  all  that  our  institutions  promised — civil  and  religious 
liberty.  So  long  as  the  foundation  and  sub-structure  remained 
firm  and  unshaken,  so  long  we  retained  the  assurance  of 
a  permanent  government,  and  the  guarantee  of  continued 
freedom. 

But  the  foundation  is  being  removed,  and  the  rock  upon 
which  it  was  laid  is  in  danger  of  being  undermined.  Im 
ported  infidelity  is  supplanting  the  religion  of  our  fathers.  It 
rears  its  unabashed  visage,  and  boldly  demands  the  abolition 
of  all  laws  for  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  Patriotism  is 
giving  way  to  fanaticism  and  party  spirit.  A  sectional  war 
of  opinion  is  now  raging,  which  demands  the  disruption  of 
our  nation — the  North  from  the  South.  The  moral  element 
of  our  success  is  diluted  by  the  influence  of  imported  vices 


326        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

and  irreligion — and  Romanism  already  begins  to  assert  her 
supremacy  over  the  Protestant  basis  of  the  Republic. 

While  these  corroding  changes  are  going  on,  it  is  impos 
sible  to  hope  that  another  quarter  of  a  century  will  find  our 
Union  of  States  in  existence,  or  our  boasted  and  cherished 
institutions  still  shedding  their  invigorating  and  cheering  ex 
ample  upon  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

My  desire  has  been  to  present  this  subject  in  its  true  light 
to  the  people  at  large — to  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  the  na 
tive  born,  and  to  the  hopes  and  judgment  of  the  naturalized 
citizen. 

The  question  involved  in  the  American  policy  is  a  question 
of  humanity  in  the  true  sense  of  that  word.  It  looks  not  to 
the  physical  emancipation  of  a  few  blacks,  but  to  the  political 
and  moral  freedom  of  the  whole  human  race.  The  solution 
of  it  involves  the  very  existence  of  popular  sovereignty.  Its 
platform  is  universal,  and  the  European  who  would  drink 
from  the  fountain  of  liberty  should  give  it  his  countenance 
and  support — because  in  so  doing  he  will  sustain  the  repub 
lican  experiment,  and  give  a  lift  to  the  on-rolling  car  of 
popular  freedom.  The  way  for  him  to  do  this  is  to  leave 
American  politics  to  Americans.  By  such  a  course  he  will 
sacrifice  nothing  of  his  personal  right,  or  of  his  expectations 
when  he  quit  the  fatherland  and  took  up  his  abode  in  America. 
The  policy  of  the  American  party  would  protect  him  in  his 
religion,  and  in  all  his  personal  necessities,  and  he  would  es 
cape  those  jealoyisies  and  prejudices  which  are  naturally  en 
gendered  when  he  assumes  to  force  upon  us  his  own  peculiar 


THE    REWARD    OF    OUR    HOSPITALITY.  327 

notions  and  customs,  or  ventures  officiously  to  dictate  our 
policy,  and  demand  public  office. 

The  peopje  of  the  United  States,  although  they  have  thrown 
open  their  doors  in  the  spirit  of  generous  hospitality  to  the 
foot-sore  traveller,   are  not  yet  willing  to  admit  that  their 
country  "  belongs  to  the  whole  world," 'or  that  those  who  feast 
upon  their  generosity  are  better  able  to  arrange  and  manage 
their  household  than  themselves.     The  stranger  knocks  at  our 
door,  saying:  "I  am  weary  and  faint  under  the  burden  of 
'despotism,  and  I  thirst  for  the  cooling  waters  of  freedom." 
We  bid  him  enter,  rest,  pd  partake  with  us — we  remove  the 
burden   from    his    toiling  shoulders— we    refresh  his  frame, 
we  assuage  his  thirst— we  give  him  of  our  bread  and  wine, 
and  protect  him  from  every  foe.     Under  our  kind,  care  he 
becomes  strong,  happy,  FREE  !     He  is  no  longer  grovelling  in 
the  dust  of  servility— the  heel  of  the  oppressor  is  not  upon 
his  neck.     Under  the  protecting  aegis  of  the  stripes  and  stars, 
he  stands  erect  and  looks  despotism  square  in  the  face.     He 
is  as  proud  as  an  emperor,  and  twice  as  happy. 

But  this  state  of  things  does  not  satisfy  him.  His  appetite 
"  grows  with  what  it  feeds  on."  He  wants  more  liberty  !  Our 
laws  don't  suit  him.  He  demands  a  change.  He  asserts  as 
rights  what  we  have  granted  as  privileges.  He  begins  to 
assume  prerogatives  in  the  household,  and  to  dictate  the  form 
of  our  bounty— and  finally,  he  aspires  to  take  into  his  own 
hands  the  management  of  our  affairs.  When  in  reply  to  his 
officiousness  we  claim  to  understand  the  peculiarities  of  our 
republican  institutions  better  than  he,  and  insist  on  our  natu 
ral  right,  he  pours  upon  us  a  flood  of  vituperation.  He 


328        A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

denounces  us  as  "  bigots,"  "  proscriptionists,"  "  cowards,  and 
sons  of  cowards,"  with  a  further  array  of  vile  epithet  and 
abuse.  •. 

Now  all  this,  as  I  said,  engenders  jealousies  and  prejudices 
between  the  American  and  the  foreigner  which  might  well  be 
avoided.  Apart  from  the  indelicacy  of  such  a  course,  it 
involves  equally  the  sin  of  ingratitude.  It  savors,  also,  so 
strongly  of  deliberate  impertinence  that  few  persons,  posses 
sing  the  least  self-respect,  would  tamely  submit  to  it,  and  it 
would  be  surprising,  indeed,  did  not  the  American  people 
resist  it. 

"Where  is  the  rational  foreigner  who  does  not  recognize 
this  truth  ? 

The  papal  interest  we  cannot  hope  to  reason  with.  The 
hierarchy  is  not  content  with  civil  and  religious  freedom—  it 
aspires  to  the  government  itself!  It  thirsts  for  political  author 
ity  that  it  may  rule  in  the  United  States  as  it  now  rules  in 
Tuscany  and  elsewhere.  What  would  have  been  the  result 
of  these  aspirations,  had  the  Church  exercised  its  usual  pru 
dence,  is  only  to  be  conjectured.  But  the  Archbishop  of 
New  York  is  a  bad  manager.  He  is  ambitious.  Eager  to 
witness  the  triumph  of  Romanism  in  his  own  time,  he  shook 
the  tree  before  the  fruit  was  ripe.  He  cast  off  the  mask  of 
humility  too  soon,  and  entered  the  political  arena  with  a 
fictitious  force.  His  power  fell  short  of  his  own  estimate,  and 
far  short  of  his  necessities.  He  failed,  and  the  fruit  of  his 
rashness  has  been  an  awakened  protestant  republican  sen 
timent  that  will  assuredly  hold  a  jealous  watch  over  the 
future. 


CONSCIENCE    KEEPERS    ARE    DESPOTS.  329 

To  the  laity  of  the  Romish  religion  we  can  only  appeal  as 
to  men,  and  point  out  the  way  to  make  them  free-men— free 
in  their  consciences ;  free  in  their  temporal  affairs.  Without 
this  freedom,  they  can  never  realize  the  full  nature  and  scope 
of  their  intelligences,  or  lay  claim  to  the  prerogatives,  of  per 
fect  manliness.  The  individual  who  places  his  conscience  in 
the  keeping  of  another,  divests  himself  of  all  individuality, 
and  becomes  the  creature,  the  very  slave  of  his  conscience- 
keeper.  In  every  sense,  moral,  social,  and  religious,  he 
becomes  a  mere  instrument,  and  as  a  natural  consequence 
his  whole  being,  his  happiness  or  misery,  his  successes  and 
defeats,  his  condition  and  circumstances,  all  are  made  depen 
dent  on  the  will  or  caprice  of  another. 

This  is  not  the  case  with  him  who  devotes  his  conscience 
.to  a  faith,  instead  of  placing  it  under  the  dictation  of  a  mere 
man.  The  difference  is  as  broad  as  that  between  mutability 
and  immutability— or  between  principle  itself  and  mere  pro 
fession.  Principle  is  unchangeable— profession  is  changeable. 
Faith  is  reliance  in  a  principle,  and  although  faith  may  change 
under  the  dictates  of  the  judgment,  the  principle  remains. 
He,  therefore,  who  gives  his  conscience  through  faith  to  a 
principle  may  retain  and  exercise  his  judgment;  whereas  he 
who  gives  his  conscience  to  a  human  being  creates  a  visible 
and  present  master  over  his  judgment.  In  a  matter  of  this 
nature  the  individual  must  choose  for  himself,  taking  the  con- 
seqences  of  good  or  evil  as  the  fruits  of  his  choice. 

What  can  we  say  to  the  respectable  foreign  mechanic  ? 
Precisely  the  same  that  we  say  to  the  American  mechanic. 
Your  labor  is  cheapened  and  your  talen4  undermined  b7  the 


330  A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

ruinous  competition  of  those  uneducated  charlatans  who  come 
to  us  professing  everything  and  knowing  nothing.  They  work 
for  a  pittance  that  would  starve  out  decency,  and  drive  com 
fort  from,  your  firesides,  and  through  the  cupidity  and  avarice 
of  employers,  they  find  employment  at  your  expense. 

The  proposed  amendment  of  the  laws  of  naturalization  does 
not  strike  at  the  rights  or  privileges  of  any  man.  The  atti 
tude  of  the  aliens  who  may  be  in  the  country  at  the  time  of 
enacting  that  amendment  will  not  be  changed  one  iota  by  its 
adoption.  The  act  cannot  be  otherwise  than  prospective  in 
its  intent  and  effects.  It  is  desirable,  nay,  imperatively  neces 
sary,  as  a  conservative  element  in  the  future,  and  its  benefits 
will  be  shared  alike  by  the  adopted  and  the  native  born  citi 
zen.  It  is  a  measure  demanded  by  an  exigency  that  was  not 
contemplated  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  existing  law. 
All  that  is  valuable,  all  that  is  precious,  all  that  is  desirable  in 
rational  freedom,  demand  it.  It  is  due  to  ourselves,  our  pos 
terity  ;  to  those  from  abroad  who  cast  their  lot  with  us,  and 
to  their  posterity.  It  is  due  to  the  millions  who  now  hope  for 
liberty,  and  whose  eyes  are  turned  to  our  example  as  the 
cynosure  of  their  anticipations. 

If  from  any  cause  the  institutions  which  are  based  upon 
American  republicanism  should  pass  away,  the  hopes  of  all 
men  who  thirst  for  freedom  will  pass  away  with  them  ;  be 
cause,  in  the  destruction  of  those  institutions,  the  great  impe 
tus  which  they  have  given  to  the  development  of  the  principle 
of  popular  sovereignty  and  human  rights,  will  cease.  In  such 
an  event,  the  rule  of  "legitimacy"  would  be  reestablished 
with  tenfold  force,  not  only  in  Europe,  but  in  America  also. 


THE    GOOD    OF    ALL    MEN    INVOLVED.  331 

Society  would  retrograde,  and  the  inert  or  terrified  and  disor 
ganized  masses,  seeking  in  present  submission  the  gracious 
meed  of  personal  safety,  would  relax  into  the  ignoble  condition 
of  subjects  and  serfs.  Every  element,  therefore,  that  is  calcula 
ted  in  the  remotest  degree  to  weaken  those  institutions,  or  to 
jeopardize  the  great  experiment  of  popular  liberty,  should  be 
met,  by  all  men  who  are  the  partakers  or  the  disciples  of 
freedom,  with  stern  and  resolute  resistance. 

It  is  the  constant  dropping  of  water  that  wears  away  a 
stone,  -and  it  is  the  gradual  but  steady  introduction  of  corro 
sive  elements  that  endanger  the  institutions  of  freedom  in 
America.  In  the  result,  it  matters  not  whether  those  ele 
ments  are  introduced  by  secret  enemies  or  by  misguided 
friends.  Regrets  will  not  make  whole  the  broken  vase  ;  and 
if  the  visionary  theories  of  radical  Europeans  in  America  are 
to  be  carried  out,  the  spirit  of  Liberty  may  well  exclaim, 
"  Save  me  from  rny  friends  !" 

American  republicanism  has  nothing  to  fear  from  its  open 
foes— it  is  invulnerable  against  the  world  in  arms.  At  the 
first  signal  of  assault,  a  million  of  bayonets  would  bristle  in  its 
defence,  and  twenty  millions  of  hearts  would  be  offered  as 
willing  sacrifices  upon  the  altar  of  its  safety  !  No,  American 
republicanism  will  yield  to  no  warlike  conqueror.  If  it  falls, 
it  will  fall  by  the  hands  of  those  who  have  sought  it  as  their 
aegis— it  will  fall  as  fell  Rome— by  the  hands  of  those  who 
flew  to  it  for  shelter. 

"The  history  of  Rome,"  says  Samuel  Whelpley,  "furnishes 
a  striking  instance  of  the  deplorable  effects  of  an  influx  of 
strangers  into  a  country.  After  the  Romans  had  conquered 


332       A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  POLICY. 

Carthage,  Greece,  Asia,  and  Gaul,  Italy  presently  filled  with 
emigrants  from  all  quarters.  Though  they  came,  as  it  were, 
singly,  and  as  humble  suppliants,  yet  they,  in  effect,  conquered 
the  conquerors.  They  inundated  all  Italy.  The  majesty  of 
the  ancient  Romans  was  obscured,  overwhelmed,  and  utterly 
lost  in  an  innumerable  swarm  of  foreigners.  The  evil  came 
on  by  slow  and  imperceptible  degrees,  but  was  at  last  irresistible 
and  fatal.  These,"  he  adds,  "  were  the  persons  generally  em 
ployed  in  the  civil  wars.  A  multitude  made  up  of  such  peo 
ple  is  always  fickle,  inflammatory,  outrageous,  ungrateful,  vin 
dictive,  and  burning  with  ambition  to  level  all  distinctions." 

Samuel  Whelpley  lived,  wrote,  and  died  when  the  Ameri 
can  Republic  was  in  its  early  infancy.  Yet,  even  at  that  day, 
he  delineated  the  foregoing  picture  of  the  circumstances  of 
the  present  time — and  as  the  summum  bonum  to  our  liberties, 
in  view  of  these  circumstances,  he  affixed  the  following 
maxim : 

"  No  person  should  hereafter  become  a  citizen  but  by  being 
born  in  the  United  States." 

"  Let  foreigners  find  in  this  country  an  asylum  from  oppres 
sion.  Here  let  them  buy,  and  build,  and  plant :  let  them 
spread  and  flourish,  pursuing  happiness  in  every  mode  of  life 
which  enterprise  can  suggest  or  reason  justify  :  but  let  them 
be  exonerated  from  the  toils  of  government.  We  do  not 
need  their  hands  to  steady  the  ark." 


APPENDIX. 


THE  following  pages  are  appended  to  this  work  with  a  view  of 
introducing  such  matter  as  is  essential  to  a  complete  illustration  of 
certain  statements  made  in  the  work,  without  encumbering  the  recital 
with  lengthy  "  notes."  The  attention  of  the  reader  is  especially  in 
vited  to  the  subjects  presented  iif  this  APPENDIX,  as  containing  mat 
ters  of  fact,  necessary,  perhaps,  to  bring  about  conviction  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  doubt  the  existence  of  a  necessity  for  adopting 
the  policy  of  the  American  Organization. 

SPEECH  OP  HENRY  CLAY,  IN  REPLY  TO  GOVERNOR  Louis  KOSSUTH,  ON 

THE  SUBJECT  OF  AMERICAN  INTERVENTION  IN  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  EUROPE. 

I  owe  you,  sir,  an  apology  for  not  having  acceded  before  to  the 
desire  you  were  kind  enough  to  intimate  more  than  once  to  see  me  ; 
but  really  my  health  has  been  so  feeble  that  I  did  not  dare  to  hazard 
the  excitement  of  so  interesting  an  interview.  Besides,  sir  (he  added 
with  some  pleasantry),  your  wonderful  and  fascinating  eloquence  has 
mesmerized  so  large  a  portion  of  our  people  wherever  you  have  gone, 
and  even  some  of  our  members  of  Congress  (waving  his  hand  toward 
the  two  or  three  gentlemen  who  were  present),  that  I  feared  to  come 
under  its  influence  lest  you  might  shake  my  faith  in  some  principles 
in  regard  to  the  foreign  policy  of  this  government,  which  I  have  long 
and  constantly  cherished. 

And  in  regard  to  this  matter,  you  will  allow  me,  I  hope,  to  speak 


334  APPENDIX. 

with  that  sincerity  and  candor  which  becomes  the  interest  the  subject 
has  for  you  and  for  myself,  and  which  is  due  to  us  both,  as  the  vo 
taries  of  freedom. 

I  trust  you  will  believe  me,  too,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  entertain 
ever  the  liveliest  sympathies  in  every  struggle  for  liberty  in  Hungary 
and  in  every  country  :  and  in  this  I  believe  I  express  the  universal 
sentiment  of  my  countrymen.    But,  sir,  for  the  sake  of  my  country, 
you  must  allow  me  to  protest  against  the  policy  you  propose  to  her. 
Waive  the  grave  and  momentous  question  of  the  right  of  one  nation 
to   assume  the  executive  power  among  nations  for  the  enforcement 
of  international  law,  or  of  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  dictate 
to  Russia  the  character  of  her  relations  with  the  nations  around  her, 
and  let  us  come  at  once  to  the  practical  consideration  of  the  matter. 
You  tell  us  yourself,  with  great  truth  and  propriety,  'that  mere 
sympathy,  or  the  expression  of  sympathy,  cannot  advance  your  pur 
poses.    You  require  "  material  aid."     And,  indeed,  it  is  manifest  that 
the  mere  declarations  of  the  sympathy  of  Congress,  or  of  the  Presi 
dent,  or  of  the  public,  would  be  of  little  avail,  unless  we  were  pre 
pared  to  enforce  those  declarations  by  a  resort  to  arms,  and  unless 
other  nations  could  see  that  preparation  and  determination  upon  our 
part. 

Well,  sir,  suppose  that  war  should  be  the  issue  of  the  course  you 
propose  to  us,  could  we  then  effect  anything  for  you,  ourselves,  or 
the  cause  of  liberty?  To  transport  men  and  arms  across  the  ocean 
in  sufficient  numbers  and  quantities  to  be  effective  against  Russia 
and  Austria,  would  be  impossible.  It  is  a  fact  which  perhaps  may 
not  be  generally  known,  that  the  most  imperative  reason  with  Great 
Britain  for  the  close  of  her  last  war  with  us,  was  the  immense  cost 
of  the  transportation  and  maintenance  of  forces  and  munitions  of 
war  in  such  a  distant  theatre,  and  yet,  she  had  not,  perhaps,  more 
than  30,000  men  upon  this  continent  at  any  time.  Upon  land,  Russia 
is  invulnerable  to  us  as  we  are  to  her.  Upon  the  ocean,  a  war 
between  Russia  and.  this  country  would  result  in  the  mutual  annoy- 


335 


ance  to  commerce,  but  probably  in  little  else.    I  learn  recently,  that 
her  war  marine  is  superior  to  that  of  any  nation  in  Europe,  except 
perhaps  Great  Britain.     Her  ports  are  few.,  her  commerce  limited 
while  we,  on  our  part,  would  offer  as  a  prey  to  her  cruisers,  a  rich 
and  extensive  commerce. 

Thus,  sir,  after  effecting  nothing  in  such  a  war.  after  abandoning 
IP  ancient  policy  of  amity  and  non-intervention  in  the  affairs  of 
•her  nations,  and  thus  justifying  them  in  abandoning  the  terms  of 
bearance  and  non-interference  which  they  have  hitherto  preserved 
wards  us,  after  the  downfall  perhaps  of  the  friends  of  liberal  insti- 
utionsin  Europe,  her  despots,  imitating  and  provoked  by  our  fatal 
sample,  may  turn  upon  us  in  the  hour  of  weakness  and  exhaustion  - 
and  with  an  almost  equally  irresistible  force  of  reason  and  of  arm,' 
:hey  may  say  to  us,  you  have  set  us  the  example.     You  have  quit 
jour  own  to  stand  on  foreign  ground;    you  have  abandoned   the 
policy  you  professed  in  the  day  of  your  weakness,  to  interfere  in  the 
affairs  of  the  people  upon  this  continent,  in  behalf  of  those  principles 
e  supremacy  of  which  you  say  is  necessary  to  your  prosperity-to 
your  existence.    We,  in  our  own  turn,  believing  that  your  anarchical 
wiples  are  inimical  to  the  peace,  security,  and  happiness  of  our 
ubjects,  will  obliterate  the  bed  which  has  nourished  such  noxious 
is  j  we  will  crush  you  as  the  propagandists  of  doctrines  so  des- 
stive  of  the  peace  and  good  order  of  the  world 
The  indomitable  spirit  of  our  people  might,  and  would  be  equal  to 
the  emergency,  and  we  might  remain  unsubdued,  even  by  so  tre 
mendous  a  combination  ;  but  the  consequences  to  us  would  be  terri 
ble  enough.    You  must  allow  me,  sir,  to  speak  thus  freely,  as  I  feel 
<P17,  though  my  opinion  may  be  of  but  little  importance-as  the 
expression  of  a  dying  man. 

Sir,  the  recent  melancholy  subversion  of  the  republican  govern- 

ent  of  France,  and  that  enlightened  nation  voluntarily  placing  its 

neck  under  the  yoke  of  despotism,  teach  us  to  despair  of  any  present 

success  for  liberal  institutions  in  Europe.    It  gives  us  an  impLTe 


336  APPENDIX. 

warning  not  to  rely  upon  others  for  the  vindication  of  our  principles, 
but  to  look  to  ourselves,  and  to  cherish,  with  more  care  than  ever, 
the  security  of  our  institutions  and  the  preservation  of  our  policy 
and  principles. 

By  the  policy  to  which  we  have  adhered  since  the  days  of  Was 
ington,  we  have  prospered  beyond  precedent ;  we  have  done  more  for 
the  cause  of  liberty  in  the  world  than  arms  could  effect.    We  have 
shown  to  other  nations  the  way  to  greatness  and  happiness,  and  if 
we  but  continue  united,  as  one  people,  and  persevere  in  the  policy 
which  our  experience  has  so  clearly  and  triumphantly  vindicated,  we 
may  in  another  quarter  of  a  century,  furnish  an  example  which  the 
reason  of  the  world  cannot  resist.     But  if  we  should  involve  our 
selves  in  the  tangled  web  of  European  politics,  in  a  war  in  which  we 
could  effect  nothing,   and  if  in  that  struggle  Hungary  should  go 
down,  and  we  should  go  down  with  her,  where  then  would  be 
last  hope  of  the  friends  of  freedom  throughout  the  world? 
better  is  it  for  ourselves,  for  Hungary,  and  for  the  cause  of  liberty, 
that,  adhering  to  our  wise,  pacific  system,  and  avoiding  the  distant 
wars  of  Europe,  we  should  keep  our  lamp  burning  brightly  on  this 
western  shore,  as  a  light  to  all  nations,  than  to  hazard  its  utter  ex 
tinction  among  the  ruins  of  fallen  or  falling  republics  in  Europe. 


APPENDIX. 


337 


OPINION  OF  THOMAS  H.  BENTON. 

THE  following  remarks  on  this  subject  of  Intervention  were  made 
by  the  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  while  addressing  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  Missouri. 

"I  am  opposed  to  intervening  ;  and  under  a,,  «,  ,orm,  ,  and,  as  much  „          ,u 
«  e  orm  of  protest  •  to  be  unsupported  by  ac,,,  tt  the  protest  shoald  be 

"H:r  T';:en  of  our  counir-  -h°  h»«  —  -  —  —  - 

•t.on  M,  p,,lmore  and  M,  C|ay  „,  (he  two  foremos 

»  a  pron.pt  and  unmanned  oppos,,lon  in  all  lts  form,  ,„  ' 

car,  posiUon.     Others  have  spo.en  .e,,  aga,nst  the  ne.  doe  tie    but     ha 


15 


338  APPENDIX. 


KOSSUTH'S  APPEAL  TO  THE  GERMANS  IN  AMERICA. 

WE  copy  from  a  German  paper,  called  the  New  York  Staats  Zei- 
tung,  the  following  report  of  Kossuth's  interview  with  a  committee 
Of  Germans  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  14th  of  June,  1852. 

«  About  ten  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning,  about  twelve  German 
citizens  visited  Kossuth.  They  were  presented  to  the  Governor  by 
Col.  Ihazi,  when  Mr.  Jacekel  made  a  short  address,  referring  to  the 
sacredness  of  their  cause,  and  their  valor  in  upholding  the  same. 

Kossuth  replied  as  follows : 

«  German  Citizens.-  You  are  strong  enough  to  effect  the  election  of  that  can- 
didate  for  the  Presidency  who  gives  the  most  attention  to  the  European  cause. 
I  find  that  quite  natural,  because  between  both  parties  there  is  no  difference  as 
regards  the  internal  policy,  and  because  only  by  the  inanity  of  the  German  citizeng 
of  this  country,  the  election  will  be  such  that,  by  and  by,  the  administration  will 
turn  their  attention  to  other  countries,  and  give  every  nation  free  scope.    No  tree, 
my  German  flftnds,  falls  with  the  first  stroke ;  it  is  therefore  necessary,  that  ina 
much  as  you  are  citizens,  and  can  command  your  votes,  you  support,  the  can. 
didate  who  wiU  pursue  the  external  policy  in  our  sense,  and  endeavor  to  effe. 
that  all  nations  become  free  and  independent,  such  as  is  the  case  in  happy  Ame 


rica.' 


As  early  as  February,  1852,  Kossuth  addressed  the  Germans  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  at  which  time  he  appealed  to  them  in  the  same  strain, 
urging  them,  by  the  force  of  their  votes,  to  compel  the  United  States 
government  to  adopt  his  scheme  of  intervention. 
&  On  the  23d  of  June,  1852,  Kossuth  again  addressed  a  large  assem 
blage  of  Germans,  on  the  same  subject,  at  the  Broadway  Tabernacle, 


APPEND!*.  33g 

in  New  York,  and  when  the  address  was  ended,  the  meeting  adopted 

»  followmg  incendiary  resolution,    These  resolutions  exhibit  au 

utter  forgetfulness  of  the  sworn  duties  of  naturalised  citizens  to  their 

dopted  country,,  and  the  prostitution  of  an  American  suffrage  to  the 

miserable  uses  of  European  revolutionists. 


» 


P^ouon  of  ta  saM  revo^l";  "W""  MCeSSary  *"  ^ 

-*,  Tha,  „  e^,res8  our  lhanta  and  >rmpatby  t 


340  APPENDIX. 

to  the  German  agitators,  for  their  noble  efforts;  that  we  promise  them  results,  and 
that  the  Germans  of  New  York  and  environs  will  continue  to  work  for  the  great 
end  of  a  universal  liberation  of  nations." 

These  resolutions  give  evidence  alike  of  the  influence  of  Kossuth 
over  the  German  population,,  and  of  the  fact  that  those  who  passed 
the  resolutions  were  imbued  solely  with  the  spirit  of  European  revo 
lutionists. 

Kossuth  had  by  this  time  abandoned  all  hope  of  enlisting  the  sym 
pathies  and  cooperation  of  the  American  government  to  his  plans. 
He  had  discovered,  also,  that  the  American  people  would  listen  no 
longer  (ev?n  by  courtesy),  to  his  inharmonious  and  visionary  theo 
ries  ;  and,  so,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  step  from  his  lofty  position,  and 
stoop  to  seditious  measures.  He  strove  to  arouse  the  foreign  popula 
tion  in  the  United  States  against  the  peace  of  the  country-advising 
and  urging  them  to  use  their  united  political  privileges  and  powers 
in  the  selection  of  men  and  the  adoption  of  measures  which  would 
disturb  the  harmonious  relations  of  the  country,  violate  the  national 
honor,  and  set  at  naught  the  treaty  obligations  of  the  government. 

Finding  that  his  public  harangues  on  this  subject  were  met  with 
public  indignation,  and  subject  to  the  censures  of  the  American  press, 
and  that,  with  these  obstacles  of  popular  sentiment  against  him,  bis 
progress  Would  be  one  of  great  difficulty  and  delay,  he  ventured  to 
stoop  to  a  still  lower  depth,  and  endeavored  to  accomplish,  by  secret 
communication  with  the  German  societies,  that  consummation  of  his 
wishes,  which  he  could  not  reach  by  a  frank,  open,  and  manly  course. 
With  this  view,  immediately  after  his  speech  at  the  Tabernacle,  he 
prepared  and  sent  forth  a  secret  circular,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
verbatim  copy  : — 

KOSSUTH'S  SECRET  CIRCULAR  TO  THE  GERMANS. 

NEW  YORK,  June  28, 1852. 

SIR:-!  hope  you  have  read  already  my  German  farewell  speech,  delivered  June 
28d,  in  the  Tabernacle  at  New  York,  and  also  the  resolutions  of  the  meeting,  which 
were  passed  consequently. 


APPENDIX.  341 

I  hope  further,  that  the  impression  which  this  matter  has  made  upontoth  political 
parties  has  not  escaped  your  attention. 

Indeed,  it  is  not  easy  to  be  mistaken  that  the  German  citizens  of  America  will 
have  the  casting  vote  in  the  coming  election,  if  they  are  united  in  a  joint  direction 
upon  the  platform  of  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  speech  afore  mentioned. 

They  may  decide  upon  the  exterior  policy  of  the  next  administration  of  the  United 
States,  and  with  that  upon  the  triumph  or  the  fall  of  liberty  in  Europe. 

Never  yet  were  the  German  citizens  of  America  in  this  decided  position. 

The  leaders  of  the  political  parties  have  arrived  at  the  acknowledgment  of  this 
power,  and  they  are  alarmed,  for  they  know  that  in  the  most  unfavorable  case,  the 
Germans  are  able  to  make  unsafe,  at  least,  any  combination  or  calculation  of  the 
parties. 

Will  the  German  citizens  concede  this  important  position,  which  will  not  come 
back  in  a  century  ? 

I  hope  God,  the  almighty  protector  of  liberty,  may  prevent  it.  They  are  neglect- 
ing  the  moment.  Won't  they  esteem  prin6iples  higher  than  names  and  denomina 
tions  of  parties  ? 

I  hope  they  will.  The  position  of  America  is  a  power— the  liberty  of  Europe,  of 
Germany,  of  Hungary,  of  Italy — depends  upon  them. 

For  God's  sake  do  your  best,  that  your  German  fellow-citizens  occupy  this  posi 
tion  and  ratify  the  principles  put  up  in  said  speech,  by  meetings  and  resolutions, 
and  declaring  the  intimated  direction  as  theirs. 

Act  quickly.  Keep  the  power  of  the  position  uncompromised  in  your  hand,  until 
the  one  or  the  other  party  offer  substantial  guarantees.  This  is  now  of  the  utmost  im 
portance.  If  I  should  be  so  happy  as  to  induce  the  German  citizens  in  different  parts 
of  the  United  States  publicly  to  approve  of  my  principles  and  of  the  intimated  direc 
tion,  thereby  furnishing  the  argument  that  they  would  support  this  policy,  this 
would  put  me  in  a  position  to  carry  on  efficient  negotiations  with  the  parties  and 
would  enable  me  to  offer  such  guarantees  to  them  as  will  answer  the  principles  and 
sympathies  of  German  hearts. 

God  sees  my  most  secret  thoughts.  He  knows  it  is  not  mere  vanity  which  agitates 
my  heart.  No  ;  the  consciousness  that  European  liberty  depends  upon  the  unani 
mous  support  of  the  German  citizens  of  America,  stimulates  me  in  making  this  com 
munication. 

My  requests  are  as  follows : 

1, -Cause  a  German  meeting  to  be  called  without  delay.  The  object  of  it  should 
be  to  consult  which  way  the  German  citizens  of  America  should  take  in  the  pending 
Presidential  question. 

,— A  committee  of  influential  men— if  possible  of  both  parties— should  prepare 
resolutions,  among  which,  the  following : 


342  APPENDIX. 

a.— That  the  German  citizens  of who  are  entitled  to  vote,  approve  of  the  prin 
ciples  laid  down  in  my  New  York  speech,  of  June  23,  and  sustain  the  means  and 
policy  which  were  recommended  there,  because  they  acknowledge  them  as  such  that 
are  only  and  solely  fit  to  promote  the  true  interests  of  the  United  States,  and  of 
freedom  in  Europe.  On  that  reason  they  should  govern  the  conduct  of  all  German 

citizens. 

&  ^That  they  request  me  publicly  not  to  leave  the  United  States  without  h 

communicated  before  to  the  German  citizens  of which  party  have  given  the 

most  acceptable  assurances,  or  rather  guarantees,  of  being  resolved  to  act  on  this 
basis  in  the  Presidential  question. 

c.-That  they  consider,  especially  the  repeal,  or  at  least  an  interpretation  of  the 
neutrality  laws  of  ISIS,  conformable  to  the  principles  of  the  individual  rights, 
guaranteed  by  the  Cojurtitution  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  as  a  specially 

desirable  issue. 

d.-That  they  request  their  fellow-citizens  of  other  races  to  unite  with  th 
that  high  basis  of  universal  liberty,  and  of  the  honor  and  welfare  of  the  United 

States. 

These  proceedings  would  be  of  immense  importance.     Open  actio 
intrigues  are  at  work  to  annihilate  this  success. 

But  the  Germans  have  lecome  a  power.    Woe  to  them  if  they  should  neglect  t 
hint  of  Providence  !     The  movement  must  be  crystallized,  that  it  may  not  waste 
strength.     The  more  it  is  manifest  that  I  and  my  policy  may  rely  upon  the  supporl 
of  the  German  citizens,  the  more  I  can  do  for  that  matter  which  is  so  dear  also 

your  hearts. 

In  the  name  of  the  veneration  I  entertain  for  America,  in  the  name  of  tl 
pressed  nations  of  Europe,  I  conjure  you  to  lend  us  your  aid  irr  the  d 

mated. 

Let  us  «oon  hear  of  an  activity  so  ardently  longed  for. 

With  high  esteem,  fraternal  respects,  and  shaking  of  hands,  your  most  c        ent, 

(Signed)  L.  KOSSPTH. 

N.  B.-So  far  is  this  confidential  that  the  letter  is  not  to  be  given  to  the  public, 
but  is  to  be  used  only  for  private  communications. 


APPENDIX.  343 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  LEAGUE. 

THE  plan  of  operations  proposed  by  this  «  League  "  of  foreigners, 
as  published  below,  and  as  indicated  in  the  resolutions  passed  by 
Germans  at  the  Tabernacle,  exhibits  the  outline  of  a  system  which 
contemplates  the  employment  of  every  element  which  our  liberal  in 
stitutions  place  in  the  hands  of  the  naturalized  citizen,  for  the  pur 
poses  of  European  revolution.  The  right  of  suffrage  5  the  right  to 
bear  arms  ;  the  right  to  speak,  write,  and  publish  opinions  ;  the  right 
of  protest  ;  the  right  of  peaceable  assembly  ;  the  right  to  hold  office 
in  the  militia  of  the  several  States  j  in  a  word,  every  function  of  the 
American  citizen,  is  employed  and  rendered  subservient  to  the  one 
absorbing  idea— EUROPEAN  REVOLUTION.  Are  the  American  people 
justified  in  granting  those  precious  rights,  those  delicate  powers,  to 
persons  who  thus  employ  them  ? 

ADDRESS 

OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTIONARY  LEAGUE  FOR  EUROPE. 

Adopted  at  the  Revolutionary  Congress,  Mid  at  Philadelphia,  from  January 
29th  to  February  1st,  1852. 

ADDRESS  TO  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  :-The  Congress  of  the  »  American  Revolutionary  League  for 
Europe,"  herewith  submit  the  result  of  their  deliberations  to  the  judgment  of  the 
people,  all  parties  of  which  were  represented  in  that  body. 

Earnestly  resolved  to  find  the  means  of  terminating  the  desperate  condition  of  the 
iberty-thirsting  people  of  Europe,  firmly  convinced  that  the  first  great  step  to  the 
attainment  of  this  goal,  is  the  cordial  cooperation  of  all  who  seek  it,  it  was  for  u3 
to  explore  the  middle  ground  upon  which  all  parties  could  honorably  and  cheerfully 
unite  their  forces. 


344  APPENDIX. 

f 

The  Revolutionary  Directory  will  not  fail  to  detect  that  the  objects  of  the  League, 
as  stated  in  the  second  article  of  the  Constitution,  were  adopted  in  view  of  the  diffi 
culties  arising  from  the  distinction  between  the  ideas  of  Union  and  Platform. 
We  hold,  that  to  have  solved  the  problem  at  the  expense  of  the  just  claims  of  any 
section  of  the  party,  thus  confounding  union  with  subjection,  would  have  been  to 
entirely  misconceive  our  duty.  We  hold  the  strife  of  party,  of  opinion,  of  mind,  as 
beneficial,  necessary,  and  eternal.  Freedom  of  mind  is  the  first  source  of  political 
aspirations,  the  most  legitimate  method  of  their  pursuit,  and  the  last  goal  of  their 
attainment.  It  is  the  principal  sphere  of  a  revolution  to  protect  the  free  contest  of 
mind  from  the  disturbing  intervention  of  material  forces.  The  points  specified  in 
that  article  are,  therefore,  not  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  treaty  of  peace,  but  as  the 
terms  of  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  under  which  we  leave  our  separate  camps  to  form 
a  solid  phalanx  for  the  destruction  of  the  common  foe.  When  the  common  foe 
shall  be  crushed,  not  in  appearance  alone,  but  in  reality,  then  the  allied  victors  may 
contend  for  the  spoils ;  although  we  entertain  the  confident  expectation  that  the 
second  struggle  will  be  of  a  character  vastly  different  from  the  first. 

The  conscious  determination  to  achieve  a  revolution  thorough  and  complete,  was 
the  warrant  for  our  actions ;  and  of  you,  sovereign  people,  we  ask  the  ratification 
of  this  warrant,  in  the  readiness  with  which  you  shall  erect  upon  the  foundation  we 
have  laid,  the  superstructure  of  an  extensive,  yea,  a  universal  fusion  of  all  revolu 
tionary  elements. 

Let  us  then  be  up  and  doing  !  Our  cause  is  noble :  is  sacred.  The  barriers  that 
cramp  the  growth  of  active,  intelligent,  and  high-  souled  nations,  are  to  be  stricken 
down ;  mankind  to  be  restored  to  its  humanity.  Let  the  motto  for  the  strife  be, 
Union  in  the  American  Revolutionary  League. 

N.  SCHMITT,  President. 

P.  WAGNER,  of  Boston,  i 

J.  R.  FUERST,  of  Baltimore,      \  Vice-Preaidento. 

C.  GOEPP,  of  Philadelphia,  j 

C.  KING,  do.  f  Secretaries. 

LEWIS  METER,  of  Boston,    J 

Willimann,  of  Baltimore;  A.  Faller,  of  Bridesburg ;  J.  Fickler,  A.  Gregg,  of  Lon 
don  ;  C.  Hollinger,  Newark,  N.  J. ;  E.  F.  Loewenthal,  N.  Y. ;  H.  Tiedemann,  W.  Ro- 
senthal,  A.  H.  ,Rosenheim,  J.  Eckhard,  G.  Leidensticker,  J.  Dotter,  A.  Pohleg,  G. 
Kerrlein,  C.  F.  Elwert,  Nefflen,  Louis  Schwartzwaelder,  of  Philadelphia ;  C.  Meoes, 
of  Philadelphia,  for  Lancaster;  Gloss,  of  Richmond,  Va. ;  S.  Buchsweiler,  of  Brook 
lyn  ;  C.  A.  Knoderer,  of  Reading ;  the  Revolutionary  Association  of  Easton,  Pa.,  by 
the  officers  of  the  Congress. 

Philadelphia,  Feb.  1, 1852. 


APPENDIX.  345 

CONSTITUTION 

OF  THE  AMERICAN  BEVOLCTIONARY  LEAGUE  OF   EUROPE. 

The  American  Democrats,  desirous  of  furthering  the  cause  of  European  Revolu- 
lution,  do  hereby  adopt  the  following  organization  : 

ART.   I. — NAME  OF  THE  ORGANIZATION. 

The  name  of  the  organization  shall  be  «  The  American  Revolutionary  League  for 
Europe." 

ART.  II.— OBJECT  OF  THE  LEAGUE. 

The  object  of  the  League  shall  betRTwdical  liberalization  of  the  European  conti 
nent,  for  which  are  required 

1.  The  overthrow  of  monarchy  and  the  establishment  of  the  Republic  ;   because 
in  the  Republic  alone  can  all  the  horrors  of  tyranny  be  prevented. 

2.  Direct  and  universal  suffrage,  and  the  recall  of  representatives  by  the  majority 
of  their  constituents;   because  this  alone  secures  the  supremacy  of  the  popular  will 
In  the  working  of  popular  institutions. 

8.  The  abolition  of  standing  armies,  and  inviolability  of  the  right  of 'the  people 
to  bear  arms;  Because  the  last  resource  of  forcible  resistance  is  the  only  protection 
against  the  last  device  of  forcible  usurpation. 

4.  The  union,  for  these  ends,  of  all  persons,  associations,  parties,  and  nations,  for 
the  annihilation  of  oppression;  because,  without  such  concerted  efforts,  the  organ- 
ized  power  of  the  tyrants  is  invincible. 

ART.  III.— MEANS. 

Section  1.    Agitation  as  well  in  Europe  as  in  America. 
Section  2.    Accumulation  of  a  Revolutionary  fund. 

Section  8.  Formation  of  armed  organizations  desirous  of  entering  personally 
into  the  struggle,  and  of  preparing  for  it  by  military  exercises. 

ART.    IV.— INTERNAL  ORGANIZATION. 

Section  1.  Formation  of  auxiliary  associations  and  military  corps  in  every 
city  and  county  of  the  Union  where  materials  are  found.  Every  revolutionary 
association  is  at  liberty  to  prefer  its  own  organization,  and  adopt  its  own  constitu 
tion  and  by-laws,  provided  they  contain  the  following  provisions  :— 

I.  Every  member,  upon  his  admission,  must  promise  to  assist  in  attaining  the 
objects  of  the  league,  and  is  required  to  sign  the  constitution  as  well  of  the  auxiliary 
association  as  of  the  league,  thus  binding  himself  to  observe  the  behests  of  both. 
In  case  of  withdrawal  or  expulsion,  he  shall  forfeit  all  claim  upon  the  property  of 
the  league. 


346  APPENDIX. 

II.  Every  association  is  at  liberty  to  exact  and  collect  contributions  to  be  expended 
for  the  purposes  of  the  association.    Over  and  above  this,  every  member  is  required 
to  contribute  to  the  Revolutionary  fund  not  less  than  one  cent  per  week,  to  be  paid 
into  a  separate  purse  set  apart  for  the  purpose. 

III.  Every  association  upon  joining  the  league  is  to  report  itself  to  the  Executive 
Board,  transmitting  the  constitution  and  by-laws,  and  a  list  of  members.    They  are 
also  required  to  submit  quarter-yearly  reports  of  their  condition  and  prospects,  the 
number  of  members,  alterations  in  their  organization,  &c.,  and  to  make  quarter- 
yearly  remittances  to  all  ordinary  and  extraordinary  contributions  to  the  Revolu 
tionary  fund. 

IV.  The  executive  board  of  the  league  is  empowered  to  instruct  every  association 
to  appoint  emissaries,  who  must  be  commissioned  by  the  central  board,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  collecting  contributions  out  of  the  associations,  and  of  organizing  new  asso 
ciations. 

V.  Every  association  must  elect  a  President,  Secretary,  and  Treasurer,  who  are 
to  represent  the  associations  in  all  communications  with  other  associations,  and 
with  the  central  board.    The  Treasurers  must  give  security  for  the  moneys  entrusted 

to  them. 

Section  2.  Centralization.— For  the  purpose  of  concerted  action,  all  revolutionary 
associations  will  unite  under  the  management  of  the  .supreme  authority  of  the 
league,  and  abide  by  their  decisions  as  the  supreme  laws  of  the  league.  This 
supreme  authority  is  a  congress  of  all  the  revolutionary  associations. 

ART.   V.— ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

Section  1.  Every  association  numbering  not  less  than  ten,  and  not  more  than 
fifty  members,  is  entitled  to  one  representative. 

Section  2.  Associations  numbering  more  than  fifty  members  are  entitled  to  an 
additional  representative  for  every  additional  100  members,  and  for  every  fraction 
remaining  over. 

Section  3.  Two  or  more  associations,  each  numbering  under  fifty  members,  are 
at  liberty  to  unite  in  sending  a  delegate. 

Section  4.  Every  delegate  must  be  furnished  with  credentials  in  writing,  stating 
the  number  af  his  constituent. 

Section  5.  A  majority  of  Congress  is  competent  to  decide  upon  the  admission  of 
a  delegate. 

Section  6.  No  compensation  for  loss  of  time  is  to  be  allowed  any  delegate. 
Every  association  is  left  to  adjust  all  questions  of  mileage  with  its  delegate. 

Section  7.  Every  Congress  is  to  fix  Uie  time  and  place  of  meeting  of  the  next 
succeeding  Congress. 

Section  8.    They  shall  transact  business  in  the  following  order. 


APPENDIX.  347 

I.  Reading  and  adoption  of  the  minutes. 

II.  Reception  and  reference  of  memorials,  letters,  &c. 

III.  Reports  of  Committees. 

IV.  Order  of  the  day. 

V.  Designation  of  the  order  of  the  day  for  the  succeeding  sessions. 

Section  9.    The  jurisdiction  of  Congress  extends  over  all  the  affairs  of  the  League, 
and  all  amendments  or  alterations  of  this  Constitution. 

AKT.   VI.—  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  BOARD. 

Section  1.    The  Board. 

I.  In  the  recess  between  one  session  of  Congress  and  another,  the  business  of  the 
League  shall  be  entrusted  to  an  Executive  Board. 

II.  The  Board  consists  of  seven  members. 

III.  They  are  elected  by  Congress. 

IV.  The  residence  of  the  Board  is  to  be  determined  by  Congress. 
Section  2.  Method  of  activity  of  the  Board. 

I.  In  the  principal  town  of  every  State  there  shall  be  established  a  State  Commit- 
tee,  to  consist  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Revolutionary  Association  there  located 

there  are  several  Revolutionary  Associations  in  such  principal  town,  they  elect 
the  State  Committee  between  them. 

II.  The  duty  of  the  State  Committee  shall  be  to  receive  the  communications  of 

wd,  and  transmit  them  to  the  several  Associations,  and  to  transmit  the  pro- 
>f  Associations  to  the  Board,  to  establish  new  Associations,  and  generally  to 

make  all  possible  exertions  in  furtherance  of  the  cause  in  the  State  assigned  to  its 

care. 

Section  3.  The  Revolutionary  Fund. 

I.  The  Revolutionary  Fund  is  under  the  management  of  the  Board. 
I.  It  consists  of  contributions  of  individuals  and  associations 
HI.  The  Treasurer  of  the  Board  must  give  security  for  the  moneys  entrusted  to  bJ3 
keeping. 

IV.  When  the  funds  collected  exceed  $100  in  amount,  they  are  to  be  invested  in 
good  security,  bearing  interest. 
Section  4.  Jurisdiction  of  the  Board. 
I.  The  functions  of  the  Board  are  administrative  and  executive.    Its  duties  are 


II.  During  the  session  of  Congress,  its  authority  is  confined  to  the  execution  of 
the  resolutions  of  that  body. 

the  Board  are  to  transmit 


348  APPENDIX. 

• 

a  message,  containing  a  report  of  all  events  of  importance  that  have  taken  place  In 
the  League  since  the  last  session  of  Congress ;  a  general  review  of  the  condition  of 
the  various  associations,  and  the  number  of  their  members ;  of  the  accounts  and  of 
the  funds  in  hand.  If  required,  it  is  also  the  duty  of  the  Board  to  submit  to  the  in 
spection  of  Congress  all  documents  in  its  possession,  and  to  call  for  information, 
so  far  as  is  in  their  power. 
Section  5.  The  Political  Committee, 

I.  The  Board  is  to  maintain  the  most  intimate  relations  with  a  Political  Com 
mittee. 

II.  The  Political  Committee  consists  of  three  members,  to  be  elected  by  the  next 
Congress. 

III.  The  Committee  has  unrestricted  powers,  in  connection  with  the  revolutionary 
representatives  of  other  nationalities,  to  take  all  necessary  steps  in  support  of  the 
European  revolution. 

IV.  The  Committee  is  represented  by  a  headman,  in  a  central  European  Commit- 
tee,  to  consist  of  the  Chiefs  of  all  the  revolutionary  national  Committees. 

V.  The  Political  Committee  is  responsible  to  Congress. 

At  the  close  of  the  congressional  sitting",  Messrs.  Goegg  and  Fickler,  the  delegates 
and  plenipotentiaries  of  the  Agitation  Society  in  London,  publicly  declared— "  That 
the  Agitation  Society  is  from  henceforth  dissolved,  and  that  its  members  join  the 
League  now  established  on  the  free-soil  of  America." 

Congress  resolved  to  publish  this  declaration;  and,  further  to  convoke  the  next 
Congress  of  the  American  Revolutionary  League  at  New  York,  on  Monday,  the  17th 
of  May,  1852,  when  the  attendance,  by  representation,  of  all  the  friends  of  the  cause 
is  invited. 

Whether  the  session  of  Congress  convoked  in  the  last  paragraph 
was  held  or  not,  is  unknown.  If  held,  it  was  held  in  secret.  The 
numerous  military  organizations  and  secret  political  societies,  com 
posed  entirely  of  foreigners,  which  have  been  created  in  various 
parts  of  the  country  during  the  last  few  years,  afford  strong  evidence 
of  the  fact  that  this  seditious  league  is,  and  has  been,  in  active  opera 
tion.  No  military  organizations  of  foreigners  should  be  permitted  in 
the  United  States. 


APPENDIX.  349 


GOVERNOR  RAYMOND  AND  THE  IRISH  LEAGUE. 

ONE  of  the  surest  evidences  of  the  correctness  of  a  principle  is  to 
be  found  in  the  involuntary  or  accidental  approval  of  that  principle 
by  men  who  profess  to  be  its  opponents.  Thus  we  find  many  of  the 
leading  journalists  of  the  country,  men  who  oppose,  on  political 
.  grounds,  as  partisans,  the  whole  American  movement,  at  times  inad 
vertently  preaching  its  doctrines,  sustaining  its  position  and  measures, 
and  acknowledging  the  existence  of  those  grievances  and  evils  which 
it  is  striving  to  eradicate. 

As  a  case  in  point,  the  JVew  York  Times  may  be  cited.  The 
Times  is  edited  by  the  Hon.  Henry  J.  Raymond,  Lieut.-Governor  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  a  gentleman  of  youth  and  talent,  and  a  warm 
supporter  of  the  policy  of  Mr.  Seward.  Mr.  Raymond  was  a  whig 
in  his  politics  during  the  palmy  days  of  that  party,  but  as  the  great 
lights  of  the  party,  one  by  one,  went  out,  and  the  gloom  of  night 
seemed  to  be  settling  over  its  history,  Mr.  Raymond  fell  into  the  ranks 
of  those  who  seized  upon  the  northern  wing,  and  by  holding  aloft  the 
old  banner,  attempted  to  lead  it  en  masse,  name  and  all,  into  a  sectional 
organization.  The  new  party  struggled  a  long  time  in  its  efforts  to 
retain  the  whig  name  and  prestige  ;  long  enough,  indeed,  to  win  over 
many.into  its  net,  but  being  hard  pressed  by  the  true  men  of  the  old 
whig  party,  and  finally  compelled  to  lay  down  the  stolen  standard,  it 
seized  upon  and  usurped  another,  equally  inappropriate,  and  adopted 
the  name  of  *  Republican." 

Mr.  Raymond  is  a  leader  in  this  mis-called  Republican  party,  and 
a  decided  opponent  of  the  American  policy.    Yet  we  find  the  follow- 


350  APPENDIX. 

ing  article,  showing  distinctly  the  necessity  of  that  policy,  and 
admitting,  in  part,  the  causes  which  led  to  its  adoption,  in  the  columns 
of  his  paper.  When  the  "  Irish  League,"  which  had  been  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  wresting  Ireland  "  from  the  grasp  of  England,"  by 
invasion  and  revolution,  held  its  convention  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
during  the  autumn  of  1855,  the  Times  frankly  deprecated  and  ridi 
culed  the  whole  movement.  This  brought  forth  a  letter  to  the  editor 
complaining  of  the  course  pursued  by  his  paper  in  the  matter.  To 
that  letter  Mr.  Raymond  replied  through  the  columns  of  the  Times, 
and  from  that  reply  we  make  the  following  extract : — 

"  The  people  of  Ireland  have  a  perfect  right  to  rebel  against  the  government 
which  they  think  oppresses  them,  and  to  ovethrow  it  if  they  are  able ;  but  the  Irish 
in  America  are  not  the  people  of  Ireland.  They  have  no  right  to  a  voice  in  its  ' 
government,  nor  are  they  sufferers  from  its  oppression.  If  they  desired  to  reform 
it  they  should  have  stayed  there.  As  subjects  of  the  British  rule  in  Ireland  they 
would  have  had  a  right  to  rebel  against  it ;  but  as  American  citizens  they  have 
simply  nothing  at  all  to  do  with  it.  If  a  revolution  should  be  started  in  Ireland 
they  would  have  a  right  to  sympathize  with  it,  and  divesting  themselves  of  their 
American  citizenship,  to  go  there  and  take  a  part  hi  it;  but  if  they  did  so  they 
would  forfeit  all  claims  to  American  protection,  and  would  subject  themselves  to  all 
the  hazards  of  the  enterprise. 

"  But  the  Irish  who  come  to  live  in  America,  who  become  citizens  of  the  United 
.  States,  and  thus  clothed  with  the  power  of  self-government  which  all  American 
citizens  possess,  are  bound  to  discharge  all  the  duties  and  conform  to  all  the  obliga 
tions  of  American  citizenship;  and,  as  they  have  renounced  allegiance  to  every 
other  Government,  they  hare  no  more  right  to  interfere  with  any  other  than  have 
the  native  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Every  citizen  has  the  right  of  expatria 
tion  ;  but,  while  the  Irish  remain  in  America,  they  have  no  right  to  set  on  foot 
hostile  operations  against  any  Government  with  whfch  we  are  at  peace.  Their  duty 
is  to  become  American*,  to  study  the  institutions  of  the  country,  to  fit  themselves 
for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  which  American  citizenship  imposes.  If  they  had 
done  this  more  generally;  if  they  had  acted  here  more  uniformly  as  Americans 
and  not  as  L-ithmen ;  if  they  had  l>een  less  clannish,  less  anxious  to  perpetuate 
here  thfir  foreign  habits  and  feelings,  and  more  ready  to  adapt  their  conduct 
to  their  new  relations,  they  icoidd  have  given  no  occasion  for  the  political  move 
ments  which  are  now  so  rife  and  so  strong  against  them. 


APPENDIX.  35 1 

«  We  submit  that  our  correspondent  would  do  his  countrymen  in  America  a  much 
better  service  by  urging  them  to  become  more  thorough  Americans,  in  spirit  and  in 
conduct,  than  by  feeding  their  resentments  against  the  Government  from  whose 
authority  they  have  escaped,  and  perpetuating  the  passions  which  made  them  so 
wretched  and  so  helpless  at  home." 

In  this  article  Governor  Raymond  sunk  the  politician,  and  stood 
forth  himself.  There  is  nothing  meretricious  or  equivocal  in  his  posi 
tion.  He  admits,  to  a  given  extent,  the  causes  which  brought  the 
American  Party  into  existence,  and  in  deprecating  those  causes,  he 
admits  virtually  the  necessity  of  measures  to  abate  them. 

At  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  a  branch  of  this  organization  of  Irish  fili 
busters  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  authorities  ; 
some  of  the  leading  parties  in  the  movement  were  arrested  and 
brought  to  trial  on  a  charge  of  violating  the  neutrality  laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  on  that  trial  the  council  for  the  prosecution  pro 
duced  the  following  address, 'which  he  said  was  issued  by  the  society 
of  which  the  prisoners  were  members. 

ADDRESS   OF   THE   ROBERT    EMMETT    BRANCH  OF  THE     IRISH    EMIGRANT    AID    SOCIETY   OF 
OHIO,   TO   THE   IRISHMEN   OF   THE  BUCKEYE   STATE. 

FELLOW  EXILES:  The  sun  of  Ireland's  independence,  so  long  obscured  by  the 
clouds  of  adversity,  is  bursting  through  the  darkness  of  centuries,  and  may  soon 
shine  in  splendor  over  a  liberated  nation !  For  ages  our  fathers  fought  and  bled  in 
vain— for  centuries  they  suffered  the  penalties  of  subjection  to  the  stranger,  and 
died  in  the  confident  hope  that  the  men  of  succeeding  ages  would  avenge  their 
wrongs  and  liberate  the  nation  from  the  oppression  of  the  Anglo-Norman  robber. 

The  day  for  which  they  sighed  and  prayed  has  come,  and  the  spirits  of  our  mar 
tyred  dead  call  on  us  from  above,  to  blot  out  the  shame  of  centuries,  and  lift  our . 
dear  old  nation  up  to  happiness  and  freedom.  The  voice  of  the  exiled  Celt  has  gone 
forth  from  the  bay  of  Boston,  to  cheer  the  drooping,  to  stimulate  the  slothful,  and 
unite  all  Irishmen  in  one  grand  rally  for  the  freedom  of  Ireland!  Shall  we,  then, 
.  the  Irish  inhabitants  of  the  West,  hold  back  in  such  an  hour,  and  in  such  a  cause? 
Shall  the  opportune  moment  be  lost,  and  the  day  that  God  gives  us  for  vengeance 
be  spent  in  doubt  and  fear? 

No  !  by  the  faith  of  our  race,  by  the  bones  of  our  insulted  dead  !  by  the  memory 
of  Clintarf!  by  the  massacre  of  Mullaghmart  and  Tara!  by  the  recollection  of  the 
starved  millions  of  '46  and  '47 !  by  the  glorious  deeds  of  Wexford  and  Vinegar  Hill ! 


352  APPENDIX. 

by  the  ruthless  perfidy  of  the  Saxon !  by  the  untimely  death  of  Tone  and  Fitzgerald! 
and  the  uninscribed  tomb  of  Emmett,  vengeance  is  ours,  and  we  shall  repay ! 

Awake,  then,  Irishmen  of  Ohio !  and  to  the  rescue.  The  day  of  England's  tribu 
lation  is  now— the  withering  breath  of  an  angry  God  is  upon  her,  scourging  her  for 
the  robberies,  the  murders,  the  massacres  of  ages,  and  dissolving  her  power  like 
snow  before  the  warm  sun !  With  the  opportunity  presented,  and  freedom  before 
us,  shall  we,  the  exiled  sons  of  a  crushed  and  lacerated  mother,  remain  for  ever 
helots  of  every  people  who  wish  to  put  the  yoke  upon  our  necks,  toil  through 
reproach  and  opprobrium,  in  the  rags  of  servitude,  and  die  with  slavery's  fetters  on 
our  limbs,  without  an  effort  to  efface  the  black  and  bitter  memory  of  the  past?  Ire 
land  speaks  to  us  through  the  Massachusetts  convention.  Shall  we  not  heed  her 
call,  and  organize  as  she  directs  ?  Cincinnati  has  already  adopted  the  Massachu 
setts  platform  and  plan  of  action,  and  is  duly  authorized  to  organize  the  State  of 
Ohio !  The  Robert  Emmett  Club  of  Cincinnati,  therefore,  calls  on  you,  Irishmen,  to 
organize  clubs  in  every  city,  town,  and  village  in  the  State,  on  the  above  plan,  and 
every  necessary  information  will  be  furnished  you  here,  on  application  to  our 
secretary.  When  the  State  is  thus  organized  into  clubs,  a  State  convention  will  be 
called,  and  a  State  directory  elected,  who  shall  manage  the  funds  and  other  business 
of  the  society.  0 

Irishmen,  let  no  man  fail  and  falter  now.  The  work  is  light  if  action  be  united, 
and  every  man  do  his  duty. 

Oh !  how  long  have  we  wept  over  the  tale  of  sorrow,  that  weekly  comes  to  us 
from  our  own  Innisfail,  and  how  ardently  we  watched  for  any  movement  that 
would  cast  a  ray  of  hope  across  the  polluted  waters  of  Irish  politics ;  but  never,  in 
our  most  ardent  imaginings,  and  loftiest  dreaming,  did  we  hope  for  such  a  grand 
opportunity  as  the  God  of  nations  gives  this  day  to  the  land  of  our  love.  Let  us, 
then,  if  we  are  men,  prepare  to  accept  the  boon,  and  grasp  the  liberty  of  Ireland 
with  a  strong  and  armed  hand.  The  man  who  now  holds  back,  was  made  for  a 
slave,  and  deserves  the  coward's  fate. 

The  men  of  Massachusetts  have  set  a  noble  example,  one  worthy  of  imitation  by 
every  State  in  the  Union,  and  be  assured  that  nothing  will  give  the  true  friends  of 
the  cause  such  buoyant  hopes  as  to  find  that  Ohio  is  firm  in  the  ranks  of  Irish  pat 
riotism. 

Let  each  man's  motto  be,  to  cultivate  the  friendship  of  his  neighbor,  to  be  sober, 
prudent,  and  hopeful,  and  we  cannot  fail 

"  To  win  the  fight  that  must  be  won, 
The  freedom  of  our  land,  which  they  so  well  begun." 

Signed  in  behalf  of  the  Club. 

DANIEL  CONAHAN,  President. 

EDWARD  KENIFECK,  Secretary. 
CINCINNATI,  Sept.  27,  1855. 


APPENDIX.  353 


The  following  was  also  read  by  the  learned  counsel  as  the  oath 
taken  by  the  members  at  the  time  of  their  initiation  into  the  Society. 


THE    OATH 


"In  the  awful  presence  of  God,  I  do  voluntarily  declare  and  promise  that  I  shall 
use  my  endeavors  to  form  a  brotherhood  amongst  Irishmen  of  all  persuasions  for  to 
>t  and  overthrow  English  government  in  Ireland;  and  I  furthermore  declare 
that  neither  hopes,  fears,  rewards  nor  punishments,  shall  ever  induce  me  to  make 
known  any  of  the  secrets  of  this  Order.  To  all  this  I  most  solemnly  pledge  my  most 
sacred  honor," 


354:  APPENDIX. 


FOREIGN  PAUPERS  AND  CRIMINALS 

SENT   TO  THE   UNITED   STATES   BY   THEIR   GOVERNMENTS. 

The  immense  aggregate  of  European  paupers  and  criminals  found 
in  the  United  States,  is  readily  traced  to  a  system  by  which  many  of 
the  communities,  and  even  some  of  the  States  of  Europe  have  relieved 
themselves  of  those  incumbrances  at  the  expense  of  the  American 
people.  In  proof  of  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  call  the  reader's  atten 
tion  to  the  following  correspondence.  The  communications  were 
made  to  the  United  States  Consul  at  Leipsic,  in  reply  to  certain 
inquiries  addressed  by  him  to  the  several  emigration  societies,,  and  by 
the  Consul  forwarded  to  the  Mayor  of  New  York.  It  will  be  seen 
also  that  the  agitation  of  the  subject  has  extorted  a  promise  to  refrain 
from  such  practices  hereafter. 

To  the  Consul  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  Dr.  J.  G.  Fliigel,  at 

Leipsic. 

LEIPSIC,  June  4, 1855. 

We  feel  honored  in  giving  you  the  following  answer  to  various  questions  which 
you  put  to  us,  in  relation  to  the  emigration  from  the  Kingdom  of  Saxony. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  for  some  time  the  .Governments  of  some  States,  and 
also  the  authorities  of  several  communities  have  deemed  it  convenient  to  free 
themselves  from  their  paupers  by  shipping  them  to  the  United  States.  It  is  also 
notorious  that  criminals,  after  having  suffered  punishment,  have,  in  the  same 
manner,  been  transported  to  the  United  States,  with  a  view  to  free  the  com 
munity  of  them  forever.  In  consequence  of  this  a  system  of  economy  was  adopted 
productive  of  unavoidable  evils,  as  they  (the  emigrants)  were  supplied  with  merely 
money  sufficient  for  the  payment  of  their  passages,  and  hence  on  their  arrival  at 


APPENDIX.  355 

distant  ports,  being  destitute  of  all  means  of  support,  they  were  compelled  imme 
diately  to  apply  for  a'd  and  were  therefore  regarded  as  very  unwelcome  visitors. 

The  practices  are  certainly  as  inhuman  as  they  are  impudent,  but  the  Government 
of  Saxony  has  not  at  any  time  had  recourse  to  this  system  of  economy.  We  have 
been  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  emigration  affairs  of  Germany  for  the  last 
eight  years,  during  which  time  not  a  single  case  which  could  implicate  the  King 
dom  of  Saxony  in  such  action  has  ever  come  within  our  knowledge.  On  the  con 
trary  it  is  a  subject  of  regret  to  us  that  with  very  few  exceptions  the  greater  part 
of  those  who  emigrate  from  Saxony,  are  composed  chiefly  of  the  wealthier  class 
of  our  people,  and  our  best  mechanics.  We,  therefore,  instead  of  gaining,  are  put 
to  a  loss  of  millions  of  dollars,  and  of  the  best  portion  of  our  honest  and  most 
valuable  citizens. 

As  it  appears  the  German  emigration  to  the  United  States  is  becoming  too  power 
ful  and  troublesome,  you  may  assure  the  American  authorities  that  a  speedy  change 
in  thfe  respect  is  unavoidable.  The  decrease  of  emigration  in  general,  and  to  North 
America  in  particular,  during  the  last  year,  has  become  so  apparent  that  we  are 
warranted  in  asserting  that  the  emigration  of  this  year  will  not  be  half  so  numerous 
as  that  of  last  year.  The  seaports  present  quite  a  destitute  appearance  at  the 
usual  time  of  emigration ;  but  the  accounts  which  we  receive,  from  all  the  interior 
parts  of  Germany,  of  the  great  change  in  emigration,  is  still  more  remarkable. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  who  intended  to  emigrate  have  entirely  abandoned  the 
notion.  Most  respectfully,  the  Directors  of  the  National  Society  of  German  Emi 
gration. 

A.    SCHULTZB. 

To  the  Consul  of  the  United  States,  Dr.  Fliigel. 

LEIPSIC,  June  9, 1855. 

I  beg  leave  to  add  a  few  remarks  to  the  subject  of  our  verbal  conversation.  It 
cannot  be  denied  that  European  Governments  and  Principalities  have  been  in  the 
practice  of  freeing  themselves  from  their  paupers  and  even  of  their  more  or  less 
guilty  criminals  by  sending  them  to  America  and  paying  the  cost  of  their  voyage 
to  the  seaports  and  the  passage  from  thence  to  America,  without  making  provision 
for  the  wants  of  this  unhappy  class  of  people  to  enable  them  to  commence  an 
honest  trade. 

Without  any  means  of  support  they  become  a  burden  to  the  authorities  abroad, 
and  it  is  to  be  wondered  at  that  measures  have  not  ere  this  been  taken  to  put  a 
stop  to  this  practice. 

But  I  am  happy  to  state  that  our  Fatherland,  Saxony,  is  free  from  such  an  impu- 
itlon.    The  Emigrants  from  here  were  all  powerful,  healthy,  and  industrious 


356  APPENDIX. 

people,  supplied  with  means,  yes,  even  wealthy,  such  as  I  could  see  leave  here  only 
with  a  feeling  of  sadness,  and  such  as  America  will  receive  with  open  arms. 

For  myself  I  have  never  taken  part  in  the  above-numbered  affairs,  and  would 
not  give  my  sanction  to  them.  Accept  the  assurance  of  my  highest  esteem. 

Yours, 

GEORGE  SCHOERIBKRG, 
General  Agent  for  the  German  Emigration  Society. 

This  frank  official  acknowledgment  that  the  governments,  princi 
palities,  and  communes  of  certain  portions  of  Europe  have  used  the 
United  States  as  a  receptacle  for  the  dregs  and  offscourings  of  their 
societies,  and  that  they  have  systematically  relieved  themselves  of 
the  burden  of  pauperism  and  crime  by  transferring  those  ingredients 
unceremoniously  upon  our  shores,  will  doubtless  bring  conviction  to 
the  minds  of  those  who  have  been  skeptical,  and  produce  a  more 
general  concert  in  the  adoption  of  measures  to  prevent  in  the  future 
so  flagrant  an  abuse  of  American  hospitality. 

But  this  exposition,  startling  as  it  may  be,  has  been  excelled  in 
effrontery  by  the  new  position  assumed  by  the  Government  of  Wur- 
temberg.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  following  preamble  and  resolution 
adopted  by  that  Government  (a  copy  of  which  was  transmitted  to 
the  German  Emigration  Society  of  New  York,  in  the  month  of  Novem 
ber,  1855),  that  the  government  not  only  claims  the  right  to  impose 
its  refuse  population  upon  us,  but  .actually  denies  the  right  of  the 
United  States  to  relieve  themselves  by  sending  the  objectionable 
persons  home  again. 

The  following  exhibits  the  position  taken  by  the  Kingdom  of  Wur- 
temberg  in  this  matter. 

"  Wliereas,  It  has  repeatedly  occurred  that  German  emigrants  to  America,  and 
among  them  natives  of  Wurtemberg  who  desired  to  return  home  on  account  of 
sickness,  or  incapacity  to  labor,  have  been  forwarded  to  this  country  by  the  Ger 
man  Emigration  Society  of  New  York,  and 

"  Whereas,  It  is  desirable  that  those  who  have  once  emigrated  to  America,  and 
especially  tJiose  who  have  been  trantported  thither  at  the  expense  of  the  State  or 
the  Commwn,e«,  and  are  unable,  whether  or  not  it  be  from  any  fault  of  their  own, 


APPENDIX.  05  Y 

to  earn  their  subsistence,  should  not  return  here,  to  be  a  burden  to  the  State  or 
the  Commune  (which  in  that  case  will  have  defrayed  the  expenses  of  their  jour- 
ney  in  vain) :  and 

"  Whereas,  The  American  authorities  are  scarcely  authorized  to  send  back  those 
who,  having  once  been  admitted  to  the  country,  cannot  earn  their  subsistence  in 
America,  and 

"  Whereas,  It  is  much  less  the  business  of  the  German  Emigration  Society  of  New 
York  to  promote  the  return  of  such  individuals ;  therefore 

"X<  solved,  That  necessary  steps  are  to  be  taken  to  prevent  their  transportation 
back  to  this  country. 

While  we  may  but  smile  at  the  ludicrous  and  imbecile  threat 
implied  in  this  laconic  resolve,  we  may  nevertheless  learn  from  it 
something  of  the  tone  of  sentiment  prevailing  in  Germany  on  this 
subject.  The  petty  State  Governments  of  the  Germanic  confedera 
tion  have  so  long  practised^this  species  of  imposture  with  impunity, 
that  it  has  atjength  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  legitimate  prerogative, 
and  measures  are  to  be  taken  to  enforce  it!  This  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  of  Wurtemberg  is  rendered  the  more  racy 
and  interesting  from  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence  the 
Commissioners  of  Emigration  for  the  city  of  New  York  alone,  were 
in  debt  in  the  sum  of  sixty-three  thousand,  and  thirty-one  dollars 
and  seven  cents,  incurred  in  the  maintenance  of  European  pau 
pers  .'—See  the  report  of  the  Commissioners  for  the  year  ending 
December  31st,  1855. 


355  APPENDIX, 


DESECRATION  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

IN  the  chapter  appropriated  to  the  subject  of  « Immigration,"  allu 
sion  is  made  to  that  class  of  immigrants  which  may  be  denominated 
infidels,  or  irreligionists-men  who,  having  no  God  of  their  own,  can 
not  endure  that  others  should  worship  theirs-men  who  look  upor 
every  religious  ceremony  as  a  senseless,  unmeaning  formula-who 
regard  the  time  set  apart  for  religious  worship  as  a  restraint  upon 
their  licentious  desires,  and  who,  consequently,  demand  the  total 
abrogation  of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  repeal  of  all  religious  observ- 


ances. 


The  manner  in  which  these  men  spend  their  time,  and  inoculate 
their  moral  poison  in  the  youthful  minds  of  Sabbath-observing,  Chris 
tian  communities  in  the  United  States,  cannot  be  realized  by  those  who 
reside  in  localities  remote  from  the  cities  or  villages  where  they  con- 
gregate.  Their  disregard  of  all  religious  observance  may  be  seen,  it 
is  true,  in  individual  cases,  wherever  one  or  more  of  them  are  to  to 
found  ;  but  for  that  audacious  disregard  of  all  the"  decencies  of  reli 
gion  and  morality  which  is  certain  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  infidelity, 
we  must  turn  our  eyes  to  those  localities  where  accumulative  num 
bers  give  encouragement  to  their  excesses,  and  where  their  political 
influence  is  sufficient  to  overawe  the  venal  authorities. 

Therefore  I  deem  it  appropriate  to  introduce  here  the  description 

of  a  single  Sabbath  scene  in  the  city  of  New  York.?  I  do  so  in  order 

^"thatour  countrymen  in  the  peaceful  rural  districts,  those  who  are 

yet  away  from  the  jargou  of  many  tongues,  may  see  the  encroach- 

meat  already  made  upon  our  moral  and  religious  habits  and  customs, 


APPENDIX.  359 

and  be  able  to  realize  the  deleterious  influences  of  this  class  of  immi 
grants  upon  our  national  character  and  morals.  In  doing  this  I  do 
not  intend  to  place  myself  in  a  position  to  be  doubted  or  misrepre 
sented.  I  will  not  give  even  my  own  impression,  but  state  simply 
the  facts  as  related  by  one  of  these  very  people— the  editor  of  a  Ger 
man  paper  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  account  is  given  in  a  trans 
lation  from  the  columns  of  the  "STAATS^TUNG,"  a  newspaper, 
published  by  a  German,  in  the  German  language,  and  for  the  Ger 
man  people  in  the  United  States.  The  translation  was  made  for  the 
JVew  York  Express,  and  first  published  in  the  columns  of  that  paper. 
The  occasion,  it  is  true,  was  an  unusual  one,  being  the  anniversary 
of  what  is  called  the  German  Sdngerfest,  but  the  scenes  depicted 
are  enacted  weekly,  in  miniature,  of  a  Sunday  evening,  in  the  lager- 
bier  saloons  of  a  great  city.  The  following  is  the  account  as  trans 
lated  from  German  authority,  and  is  to  be  found  in  the  Staats-Zeitung 
of  June  25th,  1855. 

THE  S-2ENGERFEST. 

Yesterday  (Sunday)  was  the  scene  of  great  hilarity— though  the  sky  was  dull 
and  morose,  and  annoyed  us  from  time  to  time  with  rain.  But  the  German  quar 
ters  were  full  of  life  and  gaiety.  The  singers  adorned  with  ribbons  loitered  in  the 
streets,  and  recalled  in  the  heart  of  every  German  the  most  joyous  emotions. 
Friends  and  acquaintances  of  olden  times  met  unexpectedly  together-greeting 
each  other,  and  talking  of  "auld  lang  syne,"  (our  version,)-the  Present  and 
the  Future —the  sorrows  which  have  befallen  them,  and  the  hopes  which  they 
cherish,  all  over  lager-bier.  In  the  morning  they  looked  over  their  cups  of  coffee, 
with  anxiety  to  the  sky-and  to  its  wrinkle-covered  forehead,  as  all  now  were  afraid 
of  losing  any  of  the  enjoyments  of  this  occasion,  devoted  to  social  amusement. 
In  the  evening  the  Germans  passed  into  the  German  quarters,  from  the  streets,  and 
in  them,  they  were  very  much  amused.  From  divers,  lager-bier-saloons,  issued 
the  noise  of  hilarity,  song,,  sowds  of  the  harp,  «*,.,  and  the  girls  peeped  through 
the  doors  to  see  the  handsome  singers  that  were  there.  In  one  word  Gotham  had 
a  holiday. 

At  9  o'clock  the  rehearsal  began,  and  the  singers  were  numerous.  We  admired 
Mr.  Bergmann's  tact  in  conducting  at  Head  Quarters,  who  has  not  an  equal  in  the 
United  States.  *  *  *  *  On  Sunday  evening,  too,  the  Singing  Societies  amused  them- 


360  APPENDIX. 

selTes  in  the  circles  of  their  friends,  at  different  places.  We  went  first  to  the  Quar 
ter  of  the  "  Arion,"—  at  5  o'clock  (at  Winken's)  to  which  we  were  invited,  where  we  ^ 
found  every  thing  in  dulce  jubilo  (in  sweet  hilarity).  In  the  saloon  of  the  Brewery 
(House)  sat  the  Arions  (der  Tone  Meister),  and  up  stairs,  in  the  second  story,  the 
Turners  amused  themselves  with  their  friends.  After  a  short,  sober  conversation, 
we  found  among  the  Philadelphia  guests,  many  good  people,  among  whom  we 
became  acquainted  with  two  Natives  (Americans)—  and  we  went,  adorned  with  Red 
Republican  Turner  badges,  up  to  the  higher  regions,  and  we  were  amused  with  ora 
tion,  song,  declamation,  and  lager-bier.  Among  the  orators,  we  must  mention 
Mr.  Schiater  (who  seems  to  have  made  quite  a  speech).  In  consideration  that  our 
conversation  was  exhausted,  and  that  down-town  higher  duties  commanded,  for  the 
next  two  days,  all  the  strength  of  our  craft,  the  joyous  assembly  of  the  Upper  and 
Lower  House  dispersed,  at  sunset. 

TURTLE  BAY  BREWERY  PARK. 

The  Teutonia  Mannerchor  had  for  guests  here  the  Baltimore  Liederkranz,  and  the 
"Virginia"  from  Richmond,  and  all  devoted  to  hilarity  and  mirth.-the  German 
National  Songs  were  sung  in  choir,  and  all  were  enraptured  who  witnessed  these 


scenes. 

TO  HOBOKEN, 


_4herewasa  march  in  the  afternoon  of  the  Societies  «  Sangerrunde  ,»  the  "Or- 
pheus,"  with  the  "Sicilians"  from  Philadelphia,  and  the  "Quartette  Club"  from 

Albany. 

They  went  to  Vauxhall  Garden,  and  here  commenced,  m  SPITE  OF  THE  Sunday 
KM  joyous  life,  loud  song,  and  the  ringing  of  the  flrta«M..-The  different  Societies 
alternated  their  songs,  but  the  «  Sangerrunde  »  was  the  best  of  them.    «  The  Con 
fession  "  "  Up  Comrades,"  "  The  world  is  so  beautiful,"  were  sung.    < 
from  the  stranger  singers,  Mendelssohn's  beautiful  composition,  "Who  has  built  1 
thee  this  beautiful  wood,"  admirably  executed.   *.  *    After  a  delightful  afternoon, 
the  Society  broke  up  at  8  o'clock.    Herr  Hartung  contributed  to  the  enjoyment  by 

his  excellent  lager-bier. 

j 

STATEH  ISLAKD. 

After  the  "Liederkranz"  with  its  guests  from  Boston  and  Hartford,  had  partaken 
in  Pythagoras  Hall,  an  excellent  dinner,  they  all  proceeded  about  8  o'clock  to 
Staten  Island  Ferry-to  go  to  Pythagoras  Garden  on  that  Island.    In  consequence 
of  the  bad  weather  only  half  of  the  1500  tickets,  which  the  Society  had  kept  f 
friend*  and  guest*,  were  used.  *  *    When  the  singers  sang  the  first  song  on  tfc 


APPENDIX.  361 

boat,  there  was  immediate  quiet  among  the  Americans,  and  when  the  last  echo  died 
on  the  waves,  every  countenance  expressed  a  deep  emotion.  *  *  An  American 
assured  the  reporter  he  had  never  known  before  what  an  infinite  magic  there  was 
in  a  Mannerchoir.  On  the  boat  many  songs  were  sang  in  spite  of  the  unfavorable 
weather— and  the  greatest  hilarity  prevailed.  *  *  The  singers  went  to  the  gar 
den  where  they  spent  the  afternoon  in  social  entertainment,  and  in  singing.  The 
presence  of  the  singers  had  attracted  a  great  many  natives,  and  the  tender  feeling 
of  the  American  ladies  could  not  comprehend  how  these  lager-beer  drinking 
foreigners  could  sing  so  excellent,  and  such  high  poetic  songs — and  many  whispered, 
that  "  Pop  goes  the  Weasel"  and  "  0  carry  me  back  to  old  Virginia,  were  inferior 
to  these  Dutch  songs.  A  German,  who  thus  spent  the  afternoon,  in  this  hilarity  of 
singers,  may  in  his  own  breast,  have  well  felt,  that  he  was  once  more  at  home.  *  * 
The  singers  remained  till  8  o'clock.  In  consequence  of  the  great  crowd  on  the  boat, 
no  songs  were  sung  on  their  return,  &c.,  &c. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  German  editor  felicitates  himself  upon 
the  influence  which  these  infidel  practices  had  upon  the  natives,  and 
the  American  ladies  who  were  present  on  board  the  Staten  Island  boat. 
Certainly  such  practices  are  seductive  with  the  youthful  or  indifferent 
mind.  It  requires  the  strongest  convictions  of  religious  and  moral 
duty  to  resist  them,  and  hence  the  danger  of  their  wicked  example 
upon  our  country,  our  customs,  and  our  institutions.  Imported  infi 
delity,  if  not  the  greatest,  is  certainly  not  the  least  of  the  foreign 
influences  against  which  the  friends  of  rational  liberty  should  be  fore 
warned  and  fore-armed. 


16 


APPENDIX. 


THE  KENSINGTON  MASSACRE. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

FROM  the  accounts  of  this  event,  published  at  the  time,  we  learn 
the  following  facts — 

A  meeting  of  Americans  was  called  on  the  3d  of  May  li 
purpose  of  considering  the  expediency  of  amending  the  Naturaliza 
tion  laws.    This  meeting  was  broken  up,  and  dispersed  by  a  band  of 
Irishmen  who  assailed  it  with  stones  and  bludgeons. 

An  adjourned  meeting  was  held  on  the  6th  of  May  at  the  same 
place.  Upon  this  meeting  was  opened  a  fire  "with  fowling-pieces, 
rifles,  and  muskets,  from  roofs,  windows,  loop-holes,  yards,  and  alleys 
of  the  houses  in  front,  which  was  kept  up  without  intermission  until 
the  ground  was  vacated  by  the  American  Republican  party."  Dur 
ing  this  fire  young  Shiffler  was  killed,  and  eleven  others  wounded. 

This  outrage  called  forth  a  spontaneous  meeting  of  the  citizens, 
which  was  held  on  the  7th  in  the  State  House  yard,  where  appropriate 
resolutions  were  passed,.after  which  it  was  determined  to  adjourn  to 
Kensington  (the  scene  of  the  former  outrages)  with  the  view  to  re-as 
sert  the  constitutional  right  of  the  people,  peaceably  to  assemble  for 
the  discussion  of  any  subject  of  public  interest.  The  assembly  imme 
diately  proceeded  to  the  spot  of  the  former  day's  proceedings,  and 
while  in  the  act  of  raising  the  American  flag,  the  American  Republi 
cans  were  again  fired  at  from  the  direction  of  the  Hibernian  hose- 
bouse  A  rush  was  then  made  toward  the  house,  when  a  volley  of 
musketry  was  poured  into  the  meeting.  John  Wesley  Rhinedollar, 
a  young  man,  was  shot  through  the  back  and  killed  upon  the  spot, 


APPENDIX.  363 

and  at  least  a  half  dozen  others  were  wounded.  A  destructive  fire 
was  now  kept  up  without  intermission  from  the  houses  adjoining  and 
the  rear  of  the  hose-house,  from  persons  who  were  entirely  concealed 
from  view. 

During  the  dreadful  fire  of  their  assailants,  eight  Native  Ameri 
cans  were  killed  and  about  forty  wounded. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  charge  of  Judge  King,  to  the  Jury, 
on  the  trial  of  one  of  the  murderers,  presents  a  brief  and  impartial 
view  of  the  whole  subject. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  JUDGE  KING'S  CHARGE,   IK  THB  CASH  OP  JOHN  DALY, 

Convicted  of  Riot  and  Murder. 

OTER   AND   TERMINEB,   SEPTBMBKB  18,   1844. 
Before  Judges  King,  Jones,  and  Parsons. 

The  meeting  of  the  3d  of  May,  1844,  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  considering 
the  expediency  of  a  proposed  alteration  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  in  refer 
ence  to  the  naturalization  of  foreigners,  and  promoting  the  ends  and  objects  of  the 
association  known  as  the  Native  American  Party.  The  meeting  was  organized,  and 
the  officers  being  placed  on  a  platform  erected  for  the  purpose,  Mr.  S.  B.  Kramer 
commenced  an  address,  but  was  interrupted  by  a  large  number  of  persons  opposed 
to  the  objects  of  the  meeting,  among  whom  this  defendant  was  particularly  promi 
nent.  A  scene  of  confusion  arose,  and  shortly  after  the  opponents  of  this  meeting 
rushed  forward,  pulled  down  the  platform,  and  dispersed  the  meeting.  To  this 
violence  the  meeting  offered  no  resistance,  preferring  to  submit  to  the  aggression 
rather,  than  resort  to  a  forcible  maintenance  of  their  rights.  It  was,  however, 
agreed  to  by  some  that  an  adjourned  meeting  for  the  same  purpose  should  be  held 
on  Monday,  the  6th  of  May,  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at  the  same  place. 

If  the  call  of  the  meeting  of  the  8d  of  May  was  addressed  exclusively  to  persons 
favorable  to  its  objects,  the  interference  of  individuals  hostile  to  its  proceedings, 
and  the  breaking  up  and  dispersion  of  the  meeting  by  them,  was  a  great  outrage 
on  the  rights  of  those  who  called  it.  It  was  a  riot  of  a  flagrant  kind.  A  body  of 
citizens,  having  in  view  a  constitutional,  a  legal  purpose,  have  the  rfght,  peaceably 
and  quietly  to  assemble  together,  for  its  consideration  and  discussion.  Any  attempt 
by  another  body  of  citizens  opposed  to  the  objects  of  the  assembly,  to  interrupt  and 
disperse  it,  is  not  to  be  tolerated.  In  this  instance  it  has  led  to  the  long  train  of 
riots,  murders,  and  arson,  which  have  disgraced  our  city,  and  shaken  the  foundation 
of  social  order. 
*  *  *  *  * 


364  APPENDIX. 

The  Attorney  General  insists,  that  the  whole  case  shows  an  original  and  formed 
design,  in  the  defendant  and  his  associates,  to  disperse  any  meeting  having  for  its 
object  that  contemplated  by  the  meeting  of  Friday,  the  8d  of  May,  and  to  destroy 
and  kill  those  concerned  in  it,  if  their  object  could  be  accomplished  in  no  other 
way.  He  insists  that  the  whole  conduct  of  Daly  and  his  associates  manifest  that 
such  was  their  intention,  and  that  the  affair  of  the  hose-house  was  a  mere  pretext 
to  cover  a  deeper  and  deadlier  design.  If  you  should  believe  that  the  arming  and 
array  in  the  vicinity  of  the  market  was  really  with  this  diabolical  motive,  and  that 
the  slaying  of  the  deceased  and  all  others  who  fell  on  tha*  day,  was  the  product  of 
such  a  design,  and  done  in  consummation  of  it,  then  all  those  concerned  in  this 
deed,  principals,  aiders,  and  abettors,  are  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first  degree. 


APPENDIX. 


365 


PAUPERISM  AND   CRIME. 

By  the  United  States  census  of  1850,  we  find  the  free  population  of 
the  country,  to  be  as  follows  : 


Native.. . 
foreign... 
Unknown . 


17,731,578 
2,210,839 


Total. 


19,987,571 

The  following  table,  copied  from  the  census  returns,  shows   the 
otal  number  of  paupers  supported  by  each  State  during  the  year 
ending  June  1st,  1850. 


States. 

Native 

Foreign 

Total. 

Maine  

_ 

New  Hampshire  . 

2  853 

5,508 

Vermont  

3,600 

Massachusetts. 
Rhode  Island  

6,530 
1  115 

1,611 
9,247 

3,654 

15,777 

Connecticut  .  .  . 

1  872 

2,560 

New  York  ,  

19  275 

2,337 

New  Jersey  
Pennsylvania  

1,816 
K  OQQ 

576 

59,855 
2,392 

Delaware  

11,551 

Maryland  

697 

Virginia  
North  Carolina  .... 
South  Carolina  ..'.', 
Georgia  

4,933 
1,913 
1,313 

978 

185 
18 
329 

4,494 
5,118 
1,931 
1,642 

Florida  

64 

1,036 

Alabama  

352 

76 

Mississippi  . 

040 

863 

Louisiana  
Texas  ',  

133 

7 

290 

260 
423 

Arkansas  .  . 

97 



7  j 

Tennessee. 
Kentucky  .  .  . 

994 
971 

11 

105  | 
1,005 

Ohio.......        

1  904 

609 

1,126 

Michigan  

64Q 

Indiana  

SfiO 

1,190 

Illinois  .  .              

886 

411 

1,182 
797 

J°™  '.V.'.V. 

1,248 
100 

1,729 
35 

2,977 

Wisconsin. 

497 

666 

Aggregate  1 

66,434 

68,53i> 

134,972  1 

366  APPENDIX. 


States  census  of  the  same  year. 

these,  18,000  were  native,  and  14,000  foreign  born. 
The  Report  adds, 


atatesman, 


APPENDIX.  367 


NEW  PLATFOKM   OF  THE  AMERICAN  PARTY. 

OWING  to  the  discontent  manifested  in  the  Northern  States,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  adoption  of  the  12th  section  of  the  platform  of  the 
American  Party,  at  the  Convention  in  June,  1855  (as  published  in  the 
body  of  this  work)  ;  arid  also  in  consequence  of  a  like  discontent 
manifested  in  some  portions  of  the  South  respecting  the  8th  section 
of  the  same  platform—  it  was  deemed  proper  that  a  special  National 
Convention  should  be  held,  with  a  view  of  making  such  alterations  as 
should  render  the  platform  more  generally  acceptable,  and  thereby 
effect  a  harmonious  action  of  the  Party  throughout  the  Union. 

This  Convention  assembled  on  the  18th  of  February,  1856,  at  Phila 
delphia,  and  the  result  of  its  deliberations  was  the  adoption  of  the 
following,  in  lieu  of  the  platform  adopted  in  June,  1855.  Our  work 
being  in  press,  we  have  barely  time  to  drop  the  new  platform  into 
the  last  page  of  the  Appendix,  without  a  word  of  note  or  comment. 

PLATFORM    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PARTY,  ADOPTED  AT    THE    SESSION    OP   THE 
NATIONAL    COUNCIL,    FEBRUARY  21st,   1856. 

n™tS!'  ^  humble  acknowledgment  to  the  Supreme  Being,  for  His 
protecting  care  vouchsafed  to  our  fathers  in  their  successfu  Revolu- 
tionary  struggle,  and  hitherto  manifested  to  us,  their  descendants  in 
HbertieS'  ^  indePen^nce,nd  the  Union  of 


on  .of  the  Federal  Uni°n,  as  the  palladium  of  our 

°f 


ca,  and  to  this  end, 


368  APPENDIX. 


of  any  description  to  any  foreign  prince,  potentate,  or  power,  or  who 
refuses  to  recognize  the  Federal  and  State  constitutions  (each  within 
its  sphere)  as  paramount  to  all  other  laws,  as  rules  to  political  action. 

6th.  The  unqualified  recognition  and  maintenance  of  the  reserved 
rights  of  the  several  States,  and  the  cultivation  of  harmony  and  fra 
ternal  good-will  between  the  citizens  of  the  several  States,  and  to  this 
end,  non-interference  by  Congress  with  questions  appertaining  solely 
to  the  individual  States,  and  non-intervention  by  each  State  with  the 
affairs  of  any  other  State. 

7th.  The  recognition  of  the  right  of  the  native-born  and  naturalized 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  permanently  residing  in  any  Territory 
thereof,  to  frame  their  constitution  and  Taws,  and  to  regulate  their 
domestic  and  social  affairs  in  their  own  mode,  subject  only  to  the  pro 
visions  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  with  the  privilege  of  admission 
into  the  Union,  whenever  they  have  the  requisite  population  for  one  .— i 
Representative  in  Congress.  Provided  always,  that  none  but  those 
who  are  citizens  of  the  United  States,  under  the  Constitution  and  laws 
thereof,  and  who  have  a  fixed  residence  in  any  such  Territory,  ought 
to  participate  in  the  formation  of  the  constitution,  or  in  the  enact 
ment  of  laws  for  said  Territory  or  State. 

8th.  An  enforcement  of  the  principle  that  no  State  or  Territory 
ought  to  admit  others  than  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  the  right 
of  suffrage,  or  of  holding  political  office. 

-  9th.  A  change  in  the  laws  of  naturalization,  making  a  continued 
residence  of  twenty-one  years,  of  all  not  hereinbefore  provided  for,  an 
indispensable  requisite  for  citizenship  hereafter,  and  excluding  all 
paupers,  and  persons  convicted  of  crime,  from  landing  upon  our 
shores ;  but  no  interference  with  the  vested  rights  of  foreigners. 

10th.  Opposition  to  any  union  between  Church  and  State ;  no  inter 
ference  with  religious  faith  or  worship,  and  no  test  oaths  for  office. 

llth.  Free  and  thorough  investigation  into  any  and  all  alleged 
abuses  of  public  functionaries,  and  a  strict  economy  in  public  expendi 
tures. 

12th.  The  maintenance  and  enforcement  of  all  laws  constitutionally 
enacted,  until  said  laws  shah1  be  repealed,  or  shall  be  declared  null 
and  void  by  competent  judicial  authority. 

13th.  Opposition  to  the  reckless  and  unwise  policy  of  the  present 
administration  in  the  general  management  of  our  national  affairs,  and 
more  especially  as  shown  in  removing  "Americans"  (by  designation) 
and  conservatives  in  principle,  from  office,  and  placing  foreigners  and 
ultraists  in  their  places ;  as  shown  in  a  truckling  subserviency  to  the 
stronger,  and  an  insolent  and  cowardly  bravado  towards  the  weaker 
powers;  as  shown  in  re-opening  sectional  agitation,  by  the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise ;  as  shown  in  granting  to  unnaturalized 
foreigners  the  right  of  suffrage  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska  ;  as  shown  in 
its  vacillating  course  on  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  question ;  as  shown 
in  the  corruptions  which  pervade  some  of  the  departments  of  the 
government  ;  as  shown  in  disgracing  meritorious  naval  officers 
through  prejudice  or  caprice ;  and  as  shown  in  the  blundering  mis 
management  of  our  foreign  relations. 


APPENDIX. 


In  1o6urhplttfor^"ld  ^  dlSCUSSion  °f  •»  Political  Pri™Pl'"  embraced 


THE      E  N  Do 


A  BOOK  THE  JESUITS  CAN  NOT  SUPPRESS  I 


THE  ESCAPED  NUI; 


OR, 


DISCLOSURES    OF    CONVENT    LIFE 

W%™L?^±  ?™ute  Description  and  a  Bolder  Revelation  of  the 


The  public  are  aware  that  we  have  lately  been  involved  in  a  course  of  litigation 
respecting  a  Book  on  Convent  Life,  and  the  result  is  also  known.  There  is  a  great  diver 
sity  of  opinion  respecting  the  injunction  and  its  attending  circumstances;  but  there  la 
but  one  opinion  as  regards  the  merits  of  the  book  we  have  now  the  pleasure  of  presenting 
ad  which  contains  a  fuller  and  more  detailed  account  of  the  inner  life  of  Convents  or 
Nunneries,  than  we  could  have  presented  in  any  other  form.  In  order  to  render  this 
volume  as  full  an  exposition  as  possible  of  the  abuses  of  which  it  treats,  and  to  give  pub 
licity  to  facts  which  admit  of  almost  immediate  verification,  in  addition  to  the  principal 
narrative,  the  CONFESSIONS  OF  A  «  SISTER  OF  CHARITY,"  written  by  herself,  are  also 
embodied,  together  with  THE  EXPERIENCE  OF  A  NOT,  the  details  of  whose  eventful  history 
are  deeply  interesting ;  so  that  in  this  invaluable  work,  we  have  a  most  diversified  and 

rough  exposition  of  the  immoralities  and  impostures  as  practised  in  nunneries. 

Parents  and  Guardians  who  have  the  most  distant  idea  of  sending  their  children  or 

s  to  these  prison-houses,  falsely  called  «« Institutions  of  Learning,"  should  not  fail  to 

read  the  palpable  evidences  of  their  criminality  in  entertaining  such  a  thought,  as  set 

forth  in  this  book-evidences  convincing  and  undeniable.     The  profound  sensation  which 

se  astounding  revelations  are  destined  to  create,  has  been  already  experienced  to 

ctent  in  the  literary  world,  among  editors  who  have  been  furnished  with  proof 

sheets  of  the  work.    They  say  that  "It  bears  the  unmistakable  marks  of  truthfolnesa 

upon  its  face ;  and  yet  the  mind  shrinks  with  terror  from  the  necessity  of  believing  that 

such  horrid  criminalities  are  practised  in  convents.    But  here  is  Truth  pointing  with  her 

unerring  finger  to  the  record  and  the  facts,  and  to  her  revelations  we  are  bound  to  yield 

Implicit  belief," 

The  following  constitutes  but  a  small  portion  of  the  Contents : 
Perversion  to  Romanism.— The  Trap 
The  Laws  of  Nature  vs.  the  Laws  of  Popery 
The  New  Prison. -Mysterious  Influences, 
buspicious  Intimacy.— Contemplated  Escape 
Immoral  Practices  in  Convents. 
Reflections  on  the  Cruel  Bondage  of  Nun- 

neries. — Inveigling  Girls  into  Convents 
The  Mother  Superior.— The  Pretty  Nuns 
Culpability  of  Parents  in  sending  Daughters 

to  Nunneries.— The  Forced  Ceremony. 
The  bitterness  of  Death  Anticipated 
Forced  to  leave  the  Convent  at  Midnight. 
Imprisonment.— Release.— An  Outrage 
Passion  of  the  Superior.— Priestly  Duplicity. 
The  Stolen  Portrait.-The  baffled  Bishop. 

s^&ssgsa^g^z^gsy. 

DE  WITT  &  DAVENPOET,  POTLISHEES, 

160  ft  162  NASSAU  STEEET,  W.  T 


An  Accidental  Discovery.    The  Alarm. 
My  Flight.— The  Boat.— The  Escape. 
Murder  of  an  American  Nun  at  Sea. 
Excursions  from  the  Convent  dressed  aa  a 

Sister  of  Charity,  as  a  Priest,  Ac. 
Ktrange  men  in  the  Convent.— Prisons  again 

Convent  of  the  Sacred . 

Midnight  Adventures  in  the  Convent 

The  Hotel  Dieu.  or  Black  Nunnery. 

Character  of  Popish  Priests. 

Crimes  of  Priests  and  Tricks  of  Nuns. 

Disguised  for  School-teachers. 

My  Cell.— A  Rude  and  Insolent  Priest 

Gagged  and  Blindfolded.— The  Conference 


GREAT  ANTI-CATHOLIC  WORKS. 

A    BOOK   THE    JESUITS    CAN    N  OT    SUPPRESS  ! 
•E-XZiE     ESJS  0-A.DE*E3D     3XT  TJ  3XT  ; 

OR,  DISCLOSURES  OF  CONVENT  LIFE.    ' 

Qi/oing  a  more  Minute  Description  and  a  Bolder  Revelation  of  the  Mysteries  and 

Secrets  of  Nunneries,  than  have  ever  before  been  submitted  to  the  American 

public.    Elegantly  bound  in  cloth,  Vimo.    Price  $1. 

Injunctions,  slanders,  and  vile  insinuations  avail  not  to  injure  the  sale  of  this  popular 
exposition  of  the  terrible  evils  of  CONVENT  LIFE.  The  more  the  Jesuits  endeavor  to  sup 
press  the  book,  the  better  it  sells.  The  people  want  light  on  these  dark  subjects,  and  this 
is  just  the  work  to  give  it  to  them,  being  no  fiction,  but  actual  experience  of  living  wit 
nesses. 


BY  MARIA  MONK,  OP  THE  HOTEL  DIEU  NUNNERY,  MONTREAL. 
Price,  cloth  75  cents. 

Almost  every  one  has  heard  of  the  terrible  disclosures  of  Maria  Monk,  which  about 
twenty  years  ago  created  the  most  intense  excitement  among  all  classes  of  society,  who 
were  greatly  divided  in  their  opinions  as  to  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  her  statements. 
Recent  developments  have  gone  far  to  establish  the  certainty  of  their  truth,  and  much 
curiosity  has  been  therefore  expressed  to  see  the  work,  which  has  been  long  out  of  print, 
and  consequently  scarcely  seen  by  the  present  generation  of  readers.  Hence  this  repub- 
lication. 


THB  ONLY  EDITION  CONTAINING  "ALL"  THB  LETTBRS  OF  SENATOR  BROOKS 

THE    CONTROVERSY    BETWEEN 

SENATOR    BROOKS    AND    "tJOHN," 

ARCHBISHOP    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Growing  out  of  the  Speech  of  Senator  Brooks  on  the 
OHTJH.OH    lE'lEl.OI'lEn.TY    IBXIjXj, 

IN  THE   NEW   YORK   STATE   SENATE,   MARCH   6TH,   1855. 

Arranged  for  publication,  with  an  Introductory  Preface,  by 

WILLIAM    S.    TISDALE. 
With  well  executed  Portraits  of  the  Senator  and  Archbishop. 

We  have  been  at  considerable  expense  in  getting  up  this  Pamphlet.  It  is  well  printed 
on  good  paper,  making  aTiook  of  over  eighty-four  pages,  'small  type.  And  it  is  well  to 
remember  that  this  is  the  only  COMPLETE  Edition  in  the  market,  the  Catholics  having 
omitted,  in  the  one  published  by  them,  tnree  or  four  of  Senator  BROOKS'  most  unanswera 
ble  letters.  The  Price  per  hundred  is  $14.  $1  80  per  doz.,  25  cents  single  copy. 

This  Controversy  therefore  awoke  a  spirit  of  inquiry  on  the  subject  more  exciting  and 
more  engrossing  than  anything  before  the  public  for  years. 


THE    KNOW   NOTHING    ALMANAC, 
AND  TETTE  AMEEICAN'S  MANUAL,   FOE  1856. 

EDITED   BY    W.    S.    TISDALE,   ESQ. 

Price,  $7  per  hundred,  8  skill,  per  dozen,  12 %  cents  single  copy. 

This  little  work  is  the  best  calculated  of  any  American  pamphlet  ever  published  to  dis- 

geminate  the  pure  principles  of  our  party  throughout  the  land.     Carrying  its  lessons  of 

patriotism  into  the  home  of  the  farmer,  the  workshop  of  the  mechanic,  the  store  of  the 

merchant,  and  the  office  of  the  professional  man,  it  may  truly  be  called  the  missionary 

tract  of  the  good  cause. 

W.  H.  Tnwoif,  Printer  aod  8Ui*rtjrper,  M  Beolunan  Street,  X,  T. 


IF 


RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


CTAMr, 


INTERLIBRARY 

JUN  4-    1974 


DEC  13  1974  9 


QCT  16  1975 


§1.9    KH 


DEC  1  81976 


MAY  8     197T 


.N 


i960 


;.CKUUG1  5  '80 

4RECD    91 
OCT141992 


LD  21-32m-3,'74 
(R7057slO)476— A-32 


UU!    1 

» 

Mn\/  2%  IQQ; 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


F 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CD31227TDH 


006531 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 'LIBRARY 


IIlBiHna 

il^flBHH 


r,-r 


tM/V 

1 


m 


1 


Bfc: 


